FTC Releases Details on Dec. 7 Event on Smart TV Ad Targeting Protections

The FTC's Jessica Rich, who heads the agency's consumer protection bureau, will kick off a Dec. 7 event on smart TVs, featuring two panels that will explore advertising targeting technologies and data collection practices and safeguards, said the commission in a Monday news release with agenda details. The FTC said "virtually all" TV systems this year -- including apps, game consoles, set-top boxes, smart TVs and streaming devices -- track viewers' habits that allow advertisers to target ads even through consumers' phones and desktop browsers. The first panel -- with representatives from the Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement, comScore, Network Advertising Initiative, Samba TV and TiVo Research -- will discuss new measurement capabilities, how smart TVs are used in cross-device targeting and how consumer transparency and choice are being addressed. The second panel -- with experts from Consumer Reports, Direct Marketing Association, the Electronic Privacy Information Center, Public Knowledge and the University of California, Berkeley -- will talk about what viewers' data is being collected and shared, how consumers can be more informed about such practices and the legal protections they have. The 1-4:30 p.m. event will be held at 400 7th St. SW.