In an effort to protect Americans’ digitized personal data, the FTC has announced an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (hereafter ANPR) to regulate companies’ collection and usage of sensitive information more strictly.

The ANPR serves several key purposes:

• To assess the degree of harm caused to consumers and minors by improper data handling
• To analyze the benefits and costs of any privacy regulation, current or proposed, that the FTC might pass
• To invite the American public to provide their own input on potential privacy laws
• To document the need for new privacy laws to justify their later passage

The ANPR touches on multiple hot-button privacy topics, including current laws that already address privacy, increased standards for businesses, new or updated requirements for data security, and even privacy concerns in biometrics. The FTC clearly wants to examine privacy in a very detailed light.

However, not everyone is happy about the ANPR. Lawmakers who have been calling for a federal privacy law point to the recent success of the proposed American Data Privacy Protection Act (ADPPA), which contains more robust standards and shows more promise of eventually passing than any proposed federal privacy law to date. Concerns have been raised that if the ANPR passes, the federal government may view ADPPA as redundant and simply let it die. Multiple FTC commissioners have publicly stated that they believe the ADPPA is a better use of government power to protect privacy and they will not back the ANPR.

For now, the futures of both the ADPPA and the ANPR remain uncertain. But regardless of which one passes, you can expect new privacy laws and increased business standards to be on the horizon. Make sure you’re ready! Our state-of-the-art privacy compliance software, 4Comply, can keep you in compliance with any new law. Get in touch with us today for a free demo.