USA Today reports on organized resistance to unchecked/underegulated online marketing.
A non-profit consumer advocacy group plans to ask federal regulators Wednesday to rein in the fast-growing $100 billion online marketing industry.
The Center for Digital Democracy is expected to file a Federal Trade Commission complaint asking the agency to investigate online advertisers. It also wants the FTC to force companies to halt what it calls deceptive practices and encourage Congress to pass legislation bolstering consumer privacy protection.
Executive Director Jeff Chester says hundreds of companies now track consumers online, gathering detailed dossiers about reading, spending and other habits that endanger personal privacy. Privacy policies published on websites don’t adequately warn consumers, he says.