FTC Commissioner’s New Campaign to “Reclaim Your Name” from Data Brokers

Data brokers are feeling some heat after Federal Trade Commissioner, Julie Brill, voiced her support of a program that she says would “mesh well” with the still-developing Do-Not-Track Initiative. In her June 2013 speech to the attendees of the Computers, Freedom, and Privacy Conference in Washington, Brill coined the phrase “Reclaim Your Name” as a slogan for the new campaign that would allow consumers access to the information stored about them, the power to make corrections, and the ability to control how such data is shared, including the option to opt-out if a data broker is selling their information for marketing purposes. It is unclear what the data brokerage industry’s response will be, but Brill’s speech seemed to come as a surprise to some. Rachel Thomas, Vice President of government affairs at Digital Marketing Alliance (“DMA”), said that DMA has been in discussion with Commissioner Brill regarding ways to increase transparency in the data broker industry, but was surprised to see her announcement of this new initiative. She stated that the FTC’s inquiry “into 'data brokers' is still ongoing, and the Commission has yet to articulate a specific problem that would justify a call for congressional action in this area."