ATSC 3.0 Doesn't Raise Novel Concerns About Privacy, Pai Tells Dingell

ATSC 3.0 doesn’t raise novel questions about privacy and the FTC will have authority over any broadcaster violations of existing privacy rules under the new standard, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai told Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Mich., in a letter released Tuesday. “The FCC intends to closely monitor the transition to Next Gen TV,” Pai said. Some of the new standard’s interactive features could require viewers to provide some personal information analogous to that required for some smartphone apps, Pai said. “If a consumer decides to provide his or her personal data, the broadcaster will be responsible for securing the data in accordance with its stated privacy and data security policies and will be subject to possible enforcement action by the FTC.” Geographically targeted advertisements that don’t require collection of personal information from customers won’t need rules requiring they opt in or out, Pai said. “There is nothing in the record” suggesting 3.0-compatible TVs and devices will be susceptible to hacking or viruses, Pai said. Internet connectivity isn't a new feature for TV, he said. The 3.0 order, then still in draft form, “continues a troubling pattern of indifference at the FCC towards consumer privacy,” Dingell wrote Pai in November (see 1711080052).