Earlier today, the FTC released their long-awaited report entitled Protecting Consumer Privacy in an Era of Rapid Change. One of the most talked about aspects of the report is the FTC’s proposal of expanding the Do Not Track options. In their report, the FTC notes that “browser vendors have developed tools that consumers can use to signal that they do not want to be tracked.” The Google Chrome “incognito mode” comes to mind. Over the course of this year, the FTC hopes to work with various internet governing groups such as the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) to implement “an easy-to use, persistent, and effective Do Not Track system. The other major sections of the report discuss mobile privacy, data collection brokers, and large platform providers, like Facebook. As the web has developed, valid concerns over privacy rights have been brought to attention, but I believe there is a point where individuals are responsible for their own actions.

Traditionally, privacy laws have been focused on protecting children and very sensitive information like social security numbers or medical documents. Now it appears the FTC is trying to force internet giants like Google or Facebook to allow their users to make every single bit of the information they willingly submit, private. It may be an admirable cause, but the negative effects on business would be proportionally worse, in my opinion. Many of the popular websites that users rely on would likely not have progressed to the point they are now without the use of data collection. Data mining is a multi-billion dollar industry that has made it possible for internet services to thrive while still being able to offer free services to their users. Imagine if Facebook was required to lock-up all of the information that users submitted to their profiles. That type of legislation would cause Facebook to lose its one truly competitive edge. Facebook’s strength stems from the fact that nearly 900 million people have signed up, and those people have willingly divulged information about their real-life connections and interests. Marketers ranging from local corner stores to giants like Coca-Cola have been able to capitalize on this information and conduct hyper targeted campaigns with measurable results. Google would arguably struggle more than Facebook. As seen in Google’s financial tables, over 90% of the company’s revenue comes from advertising. Google would not be known as an advertising leader if it weren’t for the data it is able to collect on people who use its services. If you really have a problem with Google capturing data about your web practices, try to go a week without using Chrome, Gmail, YouTube, or the Google search engine itself. These are products we have come to take for granted.

In response to these recent proposals, Reuters has cited Daniel Castro, a senior analyst at the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, as saying “The FTC’s recommendations would create economic burdens that could stifle the efficiency and innovation that consumers also want from the Internet. The report does not strike the right balance.” I wholeheartedly agree with his statement and believe the FTC needs to really understand the businesses it may be interfering with. Currently, both Google and Facebook have deals with the FTC that allows them to be audited for the next 20 years. That is the type of oversight that seems more in-line with government intervention of other industries. Sure, certain guidelines should be in place to protect consumers from the mistreatment of their personally identifiable information, but leave some responsibility to the user. If you don’t want something to be seen, don’t put it on the internet.