What Is Consumer Targeting Law?

Consumer Targeting Law

The protection of consumers’ privacy online is addressed within the field of consumer targeting law. The Federal Trade Commission’s Behavioral Advertising Principles recommend that websites disclose data collection policies, which are used to create consumer-targeted advertising. The FTC also advises that websites allow consumers to opt out of data collection. The FTC Act can be used to charge companies that do not adhere to their stated consumer privacy policies, do not protect consumer data, or do not provide adequate notifications of privacy policy changes. The law does not require all companies to provide privacy policies, though financial firms must disclose their information-sharing policies to their customers.

U.S. privacy laws generally do not allow consumers to view the data collected on them through online consumer targeting. One exception is that parents can gain access to personal data collected about their children for correction purposes.