Facebook, Google, LinkedIn want FTC privacy safeguards

Facebook, Google and LinkedIn say they want the Federal Trade Commission to take a more active role in policing companies and advertisers that abuse consumers' personal information.

But they are concerned that heavy-handed, one-size-fits-all legislation of the online advertising industry could cut off business opportunities and limit consumer interaction on the Internet.

The three firms spoke at privacy workshop held by the FTC in Berkeley today, the second such workshop the agency has held on the topic. It comes as Internet firms are becoming increasingly worried about legislation being drafted by Rep. Rick Boucher (D-Va.), Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Ill.) and Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.). Details of Boucher's plan can be found in this op-ed.

The FTC has jurisdiction over online advertising and consumer privacy issues, but the agency has traditionally had little enforcement power. Proposals to reauthorize the FTC, however, would give the agency more resources and the power to pursue litigation or expanded civil penalties and craft regulations. That could allow the FTC to assert more authority over the online ecosystem, presenting complications for online ad networks, social networks and search engines that all store user data.

Advertising trade groups, including the Interactive Advertising Bureau sent a letter this month to the Senate Commerce Committee warning that the FTC could become too powerful.

Facebook's lobbyist Tim Sparapani said the FTC should be responsible for policing third-party application developers who do not follow treat personal data appropriately.

Facebook, which has 500,000 third-party applications on its site, is often blamed when an outside application gets attention for misusing information or for lacking social tact. In September, for example, there was significant outcry when a poll appeared on the site asking users, "Should Obama Be Killed?"

"The FTC should absolutely be involved," Sparapani said.

Google's deputy general counsel Nicole Wong agreed, saying the FTC should try to "go find the competitors that are not playing fair."

Erika Rottenberg, general counsel of LinkedIn, said "certainly the FTC needs to be involved" without being heavy-handed.

"Certainly there are bad actors, and there's a collective responsibility to shine a light on that," she said. "But a regulation that is one-size-fits-all will fail."