Apple and Google should face FTC probe over ad practices that could end up harming abortion-seekers, US lawmakers say
CNN
The Federal Trade Commission should investigate Apple and Google over what they initially told consumers about how their information would be used for advertising purposes, according to a group of US lawmakers warning that the loosely regulated data industry could result in particular harms to abortion-seekers.
In a letter dated Friday to FTC Chair Lina Khan, the lawmakers wrote that Apple (AAPL (AAPL)) and Google's (GOOGL (GOOGL)) operating systems contain "unique tracking identifiers" that allow marketers to tie a specific device to information from other sources about a person, and that those identifiers can help the ad industry target individual consumers with ads despite all of the data involved being technically anonymous.
While the tech giants now allow consumers to opt out of having their devices tracked this way, the lawmakers wrote, and Apple no longer enables it by default, the FTC should determine whether the companies at the outset sufficiently disclosed the potential risks to consumers of having the device identifiers active. Apple and Google didn't respond to a request for comment on Friday.
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