Rep. Dingell Asks FTC, FCC to Probe Cambridge Analytica’s TV Tactics

The FTC and FCC should investigate whether users’ personal information and viewing data was wrongfully shared with Cambridge Analytica through smart TVs and streaming services, wrote Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Mich., Thursday in letters to FTC Chairman Joseph Simons and FCC Chairman Ajit Pai that were released the following day. Dingell sent the letters in response to reports Cambridge Analytica “improperly collected and shared information from set-top cable boxes.” Dingell criticized Pai for deferring to the FTC after a previous letter inquiring about Cambridge Analytica’s alleged purchasing of viewing and personal data. Dingell told Pai the FCC “has clear authority and a responsibility to protect” viewing data of cable and satellite TV subscribers, and asked whether the agency is taking consumer privacy obligations seriously. In her letter to Simons, Dingell asked the FTC to investigate whether the data analytics firm “collected information about Americans in unscrupulous ways and potentially with the aid of other data collectors.” Friday, the FTC and FCC didn’t comment.