U.S. trade regulation rule on commercial surveillance and data security

Monday, February 27th, 2023

Parallel to ongoing discussions in the United States Congress regarding the proposed national data protection Bill, on August 11th, 2022, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) began its own process to regulate digital data by issuing a 44-page Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR). The document request public comments on the Commission’s implementation of new trade regulation rules or other regulatory alternatives concerning the way companies process consumer data and how they monetize it by adopting practices that may be harmful to data holders.

In the ANPR, the FTC stated that the document’s goal is to generate a public record about prevailing commercial surveillance practices or lax data security practices that are unfair or deceptive. In addition, it intends to record regulatory responses on the matter to sharpen the Commission’s enforcement work and inform Congress or policymakers – even if the FTC ultimately does not promulgate any new trade regulation rules.

The questions raised in the ANPR are far-reaching, considering the impact of artificial intelligence and machine learning systems; and biometric information, and practices adopted in healthcare, education, finance, and other industries.

On September 2, 2022, a public forum was held online to discuss the points raised in the ANPR.