FTC Urges Web Browser Companies to Give Consumers Privacy Options

By

You know your browser spies on you...right?

As users merrily surf the Web, it collects a tidy pile of information about them: what sites they visit, how long they spend there, what they click on, what they download, what videos they view and what search terms they enter. While it’s typically riled privacy advocates and the paranoid, more Americans are paying attention.

And the Federal Trade Commission FTC) has apparently had enough.

After receiving its long-awaited report on consumer privacy, the FTC now calls for designers’ Web browsers to behave and cease allowing Web sites to help themselves to sensitive data about users. The federal agency is also putting forth recommendations for the telecommunications industry to improve user privacy and self-regulation, according to Mashable.

In its recommendation, the agency commended the steps taken to protect consumer privacy so far, including “tools that consumers can use to signal that they do not want to be tracked," such as Google Chrome's “Incognito” mode and Firefox for Android, allowing users to switch into a “Do Not Track” mode.

But it pointed out the industry still has a long way to go.

“If companies adopt our final recommendations for best practices – and many of them already have – they will be able to innovate and deliver creative new services that consumers can enjoy without sacrificing their privacy,” said FTC chairman Jon Leibowitz. “We are confident that consumers will have an easy-to-use and effective “Do Not Track” option by the end of the year, because companies are moving forward expeditiously to make it happen and lawmakers will want to enact legislation if they don't.”

Consumer Watchdog, a privacy advocacy group, praised the agencies’ “Do Not Track” efforts.

While right now the recommendations are just that – recommendations – companies would be wise to heed them. Unheeded warnings from the FTC have a way of turning into forcible regulations.




Edited by Braden Becker
Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. [Free eNews Subscription]

TechZone360 Contributor

SHARE THIS ARTICLE
Related Articles

Tech Podcast Award Winners Bring Excitement and Enthusiasm to a Range of Important Tech Topics

By: TMCnet Staff    6/18/2025

Tech Podcast Award winners produce engaging, informative, and often entertaining content, bringing valuable insight from industry front lines to the e…

Read More

How Mobile Technology is Driving the Shift to Casino Apps

By: Contributing Writer    6/12/2025

Recent years have seen casino apps completely changing the online casino experience. Thanks to mobile-first technology, apps are becoming the default.…

Read More

Decentralized IT Management: Fad or Future?

By: Contributing Writer    6/5/2025

Managing IT feels like an ongoing balancing act for many businesses. Centralized systems often create bottlenecks, slow down teams, and frustrate empl…

Read More

IT Management as a Driver of ESG Initiatives

By: Contributing Writer    6/5/2025

Businesses today face growing pressure to meet environmental, social, and governance (ESG) standards. Customers demand greener practices. Investors lo…

Read More

Everything You Need to Know About Mobile Casinos

By: Contributing Writer    5/30/2025

We live in the age of technology and we have come to solve things on the go, whether we are talking about personal or job-related issues. We have come…

Read More