The Consumer Federation of America joined 29 other civil rights and consumer organizations in a letter urging the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to issue a notice of rulemaking on commercial surveillance and data security. the The harmful impacts of unregulated surveillance and data collection have worsened. The volume, scope, and variety of sensitive information being collected and exploited has increased.

It is incumbent upon the FTC to immediately move forward with the notice of rulemaking on commercial surveillance and data security. Additionally, the proposed notice of rulemaking must address the harms and threats posed by surveillance and data-collecting companies. This includes, but is not limited to, prohibiting secondary data uses; bans on surveillance advertising and biometric data collection; restrictions on invasive, Wi-Fi enabled surveillance devices; ending the business model of sharing, trading, and selling individuals’ personal data; and meaningful interventions to halt discrimination harms. The notice must also include protections for workers: addressing harmful worker surveillance; prohibiting automated surveillance that determines the pace of work; restricting automated decision-making without human oversight and an opportunity for workers to appeal; and banning the sharing and sale of workers’ biometric and other sensitive data.