Citation[]
Federal Trade Commission, Cross-Device Tracking (FTC Staff Report) (Jan. 2017) (full-text).
Overview[]
This report aims to provide recommendations to various companies, including advertising technology companies, publishers and platforms, regarding transparency, security and the provision of suitable options to consumers whose behavior is now increasingly tracked across multiple platforms and devices ("cross-device tracking").
This report describes the FTC's November 2015 "Cross-Device Tracking Workshop," which included discussions about how cross-device tracking works, the benefits and challenges of cross-device tracking, and industry efforts to address the privacy and security implications of this practice.
It concludes by providing recommendations to businesses on how to apply the FTC's longstanding privacy principles to cross-device tracking. Specifically, the report recommends that companies engaged in cross-device tracking: (1) be transparent about their data collection and use practices; (2) provide choice mechanisms that give consumers control over their data; (3) provide heightened protections for sensitive information, including health, financial, and children's information; and (4) maintain reasonable security of collected data.