{"id":12768,"date":"2016-12-22T06:10:01","date_gmt":"2016-12-22T11:10:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wavechronicle.com\/wave\/?p=12768"},"modified":"2016-12-21T21:12:22","modified_gmt":"2016-12-22T02:12:22","slug":"december-2016-list-of-banks-examined-for-cra-compliance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/wavechronicle.com\/wave\/?p=12768","title":{"rendered":"FTC: Pursued By Zombies? Read This & December 2016 List Of Banks Examined For CRA Compliance"},"content":{"rendered":"

Federal Trade Commission<\/a><\/h2>\n

Pursued by zombies? Read this.<\/h3>\n

So you\u2019ve taken every precaution against a zombie attack. You\u2019ve sealed the windows, stockpiled kerosene, and keep a machete or two handy. But despite your best efforts, The Undead still manage to reanimate themselves and stalk their unsuspecting prey. We hate when that happens. But this time it\u2019s not an episode of The Walking Dead<\/em>. According to an FTC complaint<\/a>, it\u2019s an analogy to how digital advertising company Turn, Inc.\u2019s \u201czombie cookie\u201d continued to track consumers, even after people took affirmative steps to protect their privacy.<\/p>\n

California-based Turn describes itself as the \u201clargest independent company in the advertising technology sector\u201d with half of the global online advertising inventory flowing through its platform. Turn claims to have \u201crich profile data on more than 99 percent of North American consumers.\u201d The company uses all that data to help its clients engage in targeted advertising by serving up ads based on an individual user\u2019s interests.<\/p>\n

How does Turn help clients know who\u2019s shopping for a luxury car vs. who\u2019s buying baby blankets? They use web beacons (embedded code on webpages that tells the browser to connect to third-party services like Turn) and cookies (unique text files stored on a consumer\u2019s browser). But consumers spend a lot of time on mobile apps that can\u2019t set or access cookies. Turn has that covered, too, by using device advertising identifiers like Apple iOS\u2019s Identifier for Advertisers and Google\u2019s Advertising ID.<\/p>\n

Of course, many people take advantage of browser settings that let them delete cookies, limit them, or prevent them from being set altogether. For apps, they can use Apple and Android settings that perform similar functions. That\u2019s how consumers send a loud-and-clear message that they want to restrict how they\u2019re tracked or stop being tracked altogether.<\/p>\n

Turn\u2019s privacy policy reassured consumers that their personal choices would be honored. As the policy stated, \u201cMost internet browsers automatically accept cookies. You can instruct your browser, by editing in options, to stop accepting cookies or prompt you before accepting a cookie from the websites you visit.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to the complaint<\/a>, Turn\u2019s privacy policy page also led consumers to believe they could use the company\u2019s opt-out mechanism to block tailored anonymous ads on websites and apps. Although Turn tried to persuade consumers that \u201copting out may hurt the sites and apps you love,\u201d the company provided a link consumers could use \u201cif you\u2019d like to opt out of tailored advertising from Turn.\u201d<\/p>\n

But here\u2019s the thing about zombies. Seal the windows all you want, but there\u2019s no stopping them. In that way, they\u2019re sort of like the methods Turn used to circumvent consumers\u2019 decision not to be tracked.<\/p>\n

Beginning in 2013, Turn participated in a Verizon Wireless program that let companies like Turn access certain demographic information about Verizon Wireless users. According to the complaint, Verizon attached unique identifiers \u2013 called tracking headers \u2013 to all unencrypted mobile internet traffic for more than 100 million consumers on its network. (In case you\u2019re wondering, there was nothing consumers could do prevent the transmission of the header.)<\/p>\n

As a result, even if a consumer deleted cookies or reset the device advertising identifier, Turn could still use the unique tracking header assigned to that person\u2019s device to reassociate the consumer with his or her previous history. In fact, Turn recreated cookies that consumers had previously deleted. Put another way, even when people used the tech equivalent of kerosene and machetes, Turn created zombies out of consumers\u2019 deleted cookies.<\/p>\n

Count One of the complaint charges that Turn falsely claimed that blocking or limiting cookies would restrict the company\u2019s ability to track consumers. In fact, in many instances, even when Verizon Wireless users blocked or limited cookies, Turn continued to track them through the header.<\/p>\n

What about Turn\u2019s opt-out mechanism? According to Count Two, Turn led consumers to believe they could use the link to opt out of Turn\u2019s tailored ads on mobile apps. However, the mechanism applied only to mobile browsers and not to mobile apps. Thus, the FTC says Turn\u2019s claim was false or misleading.<\/p>\n

To settle the case<\/a>, Turn has agreed that it won\u2019t make misrepresentations about the privacy of broad categories of covered information. In addition, the proposed order requires Turn to include a clear and conspicuous \u201cConsumer Opt Out of Targeted Advertising\u201d hyperlink on its homepage. That link must take consumers to a clear explanation of the information Turn collects for targeted ads \u2013 and an effective opt-out mechanism. Turn also has to honor any signal it receives indicating that a consumer has used mobile operating signal controls to opt out of targeted advertising or limit it.<\/p>\n

You can file an online comment about the proposed settlement by January 19, 2017.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s the message for others in the industry?<\/p>\n