Federal Trade Commission Wants to Regulate Commercial Surveillance and AI Data Collection to Protect Teens

The US government is ready to stop the improper use of artificial intelligence and commercial monitoring to protect teenagers on the internet.

FTC's Order to Regulate AI and Commercial Surveillance

A recent WIRED story shows that the FTC is considering whether to prohibit or restrict specified practices, reduce the number of times companies can keep consumer data, or take interventions previously supported by congressional lawmakers.

This is due to companies being discovered to track people's internet activity, which has been the basis of the online economy since the emergence of cookies in the 1990s. Data brokers from unknown firms acquire sensitive facts about people's internet activities. They can conclude individuals, such as their menstrual cycles or how frequently they pray, in addition to collecting biometric data such as face scans.

Alarmingly, it's not the general public who takes the hit-but teenagers who spend their time online.

In a call for Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to regulate these practices, Caitriona Fitzgerald, deputy director at the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), a nonprofit advocacy group says, "Teens should be able to test or abandon ideas while being free from the chilling effects of being watched or having information from their youth used against them later when they apply to college or apply for a job."

Meanwhile, author Hye Jung Han wants a complete ban on acquiring personal data, especially commercial products aimed at children. With a report called "Human Rights Watch" that tackles education companies trading personal information to data brokers, Jung Han highlights that children are priceless, not products.

Currently, the FTC is looking for public input on how to govern commercial spying and artificial intelligence. Among these considerations is whether to broaden the definition of discrimination to include youth, rural populations, homeless individuals, and persons who use English as a second language in addition to standard indicators such as race, gender, or handicap.

Both Fitzergald and Han are a few of roughly 80 people who joined the public forum run by FTC in regard to the new rules about personal data collection and regulation, fueled by artificial intelligence (AI).

FTC's Role in Preventing Commercial Surveillance to Go Overboard

Cookies support internet advertising and big firms' business models, such as Facebook and Google. However, it's already common knowledge that data brokerages can do far more than market products and services. Online monitoring may aid fraud efforts, deceive consumers into purchasing things, expose personal information, and even share location data with security agencies or foreign states.

A proposition to implement new regulations in an FTC document emphasizes acknowledging unfair or misleading forms of data collection or AI. What remains to be seen is where they will draw the line. The FTC will also be bringing certain data brokers to court, most recently Kochava, a firm selling location data from places including abortion clinics and domestic violence victim facilities.

New rules can also address systemic issues and inform businesses about the types of behavior that can result in fines or legal action.

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Written by Thea Felicity