FTC: rapport sur la protection de la vie privée des consommateurs

Après avoir reçu plus de 450 commentaires sur la version préliminaire, la Federal Trade Commission publie aujourd'hui la version finale de son rapport Protecting Consumer Privacy in an Era of Rapid Change: Recommendations For Businesses and Policymakers. 

Ce rapport invite les entreprises qui collectent et utilisent des renseignements personnels à adopter de meilleures pratiques et, encourage le Congrès à réfléchir sur une possible législation en matière de vie privée. Ainsi,

"The final report calls on companies handling consumer data to implement recommendations for protecting privacy, including: 

- Privacy by Design - companies should build in consumers' privacy protections at every stage in developing their products. These include reasonable security for consumer data, limited collection and retention of such data, and reasonable procedures to promote data accuracy; 

- Simplified Choice for Businesses and Consumers - companies should give consumers the option to decide what information is shared about them, and with whom. This should include a Do-Not-Track mechanism that would provide a simple, easy way for consumers to control the tracking of their online activities. 

- Greater Transparency - companies should disclose details about their collection and use of consumers' information, and provide consumers access to the data collected about them. [...]

While Congress considers privacy legislation, the Commission urges individual companies and self-regulatory bodies to accelerate the adoption of the principles contained in the privacy framework, to the extent they have not already done so. Over the course of the next year, Commission staff will work to encourage consumer privacy protections by focusing on five main action items:

- Do-Not-Track - The Commission commends the progress made in this area: browser vendors have developed tools to allow consumers to limit data collection about them, the Digital Advertising Alliance has developed its own icon-based system and also committed to honor the browser tools, and the World Wide Web Consortium standards-setting body is developing standards. "The Commission will work with these groups to complete implementation of an easy-to-use, persistent, and effective Do Not Track system," the report says.

- Mobile - The FTC urges companies offering mobile services to work toward improved privacy protections, including disclosures. To that end, it will host a workshop on May 30, 2012 to address how mobile privacy disclosures can be short, effective, and accessible to consumers on small screens.

- Data Brokers - The Commission calls on data brokers to make their operations more transparent by creating a centralized website to identify themselves, and to disclose how they collect and use consumer data. In addition, the website should detail the choices that data brokers provide consumers about their own information.

- Large Platform Providers - The report cited heightened privacy concerns about the extent to which platforms, such as Internet Service Providers, operating systems, browsers and social media companies, seek to comprehensively track consumers' online activities. The FTC will host a public workshop in the second half of 2012 to explore issues related to comprehensive tracking.

- Promoting Enforceable Self-Regulatory Codes - The FTC will work with the Department of Commerce and stakeholders to develop industry-specific codes of conduct. To the extent that strong privacy codes are developed, when companies adhere to these codes, the FTC will take that into account in its law enforcement efforts. If companies do not honor the codes they sign up for, they could be subject to FTC enforcement actions."

(Source: FTC, Press Release)

Pour plus de détails: 

• FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION,  Protecting Consumer Privacy in an Era of Rapid Change: Recommendations For Businesses and Policymakers, March 2012.
• FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION, "FTC Issues Final Commission Report on Protecting Consumer Privacy - Agency Calls on Companies to Adopt Best Privacy Practices", Press Release, March 26, 2012.