THE FTC HAS BEEN SITTING ON ITS HANDS FOR 2 YEARS. IT MUST ACT TO DEFEND OUR PRIVACY BEFORE THE ELECTION.
It’s been two years since the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) began its process to put privacy protections in place. Since then, nothing’s been done. But the harms of unregulated surveillance and data collection keep getting worse. The FTC needs to immediately follow through and put privacy protections in place to shield us all from the overreaches of Big Tech and exploitation of data brokers.
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Tell the FTC: Protect our privacy and keep us safe from Big Tech and data brokers before the election.
In 2022, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced the beginning of a process to put regulation in place to protect against surveillance and data-related harms. This was a directive from a Biden Executive Order, and yet no progress has been made to put much needed protections in place.
While the FTC drags its feet, the volume, scope, and variety of personal information being collected and exploited by Big Tech and data brokers has only increased.
It’s become more common for corporations to surveil individuals that they don’t have a commercial relationship with. Amazon’s Ring surveillance devices collect biometric data from bystanders going about their daily lives. Meta tracks individuals as they browse the web regardless of whether they have an account, collecting and sharing detailed information with its Facebook platform.
Further, the rollback of constitutional privacy protections via the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson has expanded the market demand for our day-to-day digital footprints, demand from vigilantes, law enforcement, and deceptive crisis pregnancy centers intent on further undermining the human right to bodily autonomy.
Right now, for a relatively low cost, anyone can pay a data broker to access an individual’s home address, social security number, web browsing history, debit card transactions, and the locations they visit. In a 2022 investigation, Motherboard purchased the location data of visitors to 600 Planned Parenthood locations over the course of one week for $160.
These data markets not only impact abortion seekers and providers, they pose a threat to everyone. In 2023, a study revealed how easy it is for anyone, including foreign governments, to purchase personal information about active duty members of the military-even allowing the purchaser to target military members based on which military base where they were stationed.
Given the harms–– the exploitation of sensitive personal information, the ability to monitor and track anyones’ location, the disproportionate threats faced by communities of color, and the impacts of ‘unfair and deceptive’ surveillance and data collection on data security––it’s essential for the FTC to move forward with protections for everyone. Tell the FTC to put privacy protections in place now.
Petition
With no privacy regulations in place, the data exploitation and misuse by Big Tech and data brokers only worsens. Everyday, core privacy rights are being challenged and data surveillance corporations are finding new ways to extract more personal information from us. The harms––from cybercrime to anyone being able to track our location––can have far-reaching, lifelong, or life-ending consequences.
The Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) mandate to protect against these harms is clear. We need you to take action to put individuals back in control of their personal data —and make sure no one will be pressured by our personal circumstance or lack of accessible alternatives to give that control away.
We demand the FTC continue the regulatory process to protect privacy it initiated two years ago now, before the election. It is far past time to put protections in place that collectively protect us all and our rights to privacy both now, and in the decades to come.