The Center for Digital Democracy (CDD), Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood (CCFC) and Public Citizen  filed a complaint at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) today asking for an investigation and enforcement action against Google (a subsidiary of Alphabet, Inc.), Disney’s Maker Studios, DreamWorks-owned AwesomenessTV, and two other companies for the unfair and deceptive practice of targeting “influencer” marketing toward children.

 ... ISPs are engaged in cross-device tracking of its subscribers and customers which allow them to target advertising at the individual and household level.  Exemplary for all ISPs, we are highlighting AT&T’s efforts in this area.

Apple’s Siri analyzes thousands of movie showings and surfaces recommendations for the best times and theaters based on my location within seconds. Spotify knows my music preferences and curates personalized playlists for me. Facebook instantly recognizes my friends in photos and suggests tags with nearly 98 percent accuracy.

Statement of Jeff Chester, CDD executive director:   Regulators, including the DOJ and FCC, must prevent Verizon from taking anticompetitive and unfair advantage of its broadband ISP bird’s nest view of what their subscribers and consumers do—online and off.  The  proposed takeover of Yahoo’s core digital data advertising business, when combined with the capability to gather information from its wireless devices, broadband networks, and set-top boxes, gives it control over the key screens that Americans use today.  Verizon has already supercharged its use of “Big Data” tactics to monitor th

We the undersigned privacy scholars support the proposal of the Federal Communications Commission to apply and adapt the Communications Act’s Title II consumer protection provisions to broadband internet access services. We commend the Commission’s much-needed efforts to carry out its statutory obligation and to protect the privacy of broadband internet access customers.

Alvaro Bedoya, Center for Digital Democracy,  Common Sense Kids Action, Consumer Action, Consumer Federation of America, Consumer Watchdog, Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, and U.S. PIRG

Katharina Kopp, Ph.D., will join the Center for Digital Democracy (CDD) on 6 June 2016 as its deputy director and director of policy. Dr. Kopp comes to CDD with decades of experience as an advocate, scholar, policy analyst, privacy expert, and corporate leader. She will develop and oversee a range of new initiatives at CDD, expanding the scope of its work on the role and impact of “Big Data” in contemporary society. Dr. Kopp will focus particularly on developing new policies to advance individual autonomy and consumer protections, as well as social justice, equity, and human rights.

Phone and cable ISPs pose a major threat to the privacy of their subscribers and consumers.  They have a growing arsenal of “Big Data” capabilities that eavesdrop on their customers—including families.  Internet Service Providers are gathering data on what we do and where we go, using sophisticated algorithms and predictive analytics to sell our information to marketers.  As CDD documented in a report released last week, ISPs have been on a data bu