FCC’s broadband privacy plans unnecessary and problematic for developers

It would be cliché to say “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” But clichés exist for a reason, and the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) decision to change the rules in the online privacy space fits this particular cliché all too well. The FCC’s motives may be well-intentioned, but historically, when the government tries to fix things that aren’t broken, the unintended consequences can be numerous and far-reaching.

Currently, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is the chief cop on the privacy beat. Under its stewardship, the internet has risen from a niche industry to the heart of today’s global economy. It has done so to the benefit of consumers, software developers, publishers, device manufacturers, mobile carriers and internet service providers (ISP) alike. Developers in particular look to FTC guidance when creating and launching software, entering into marketing partnerships and pursuing other data-driven business agreements. And this system has undoubtedly worked.

{mosads}In diving into relatively calm and predictable waters, the FCC’s misguided proposal threatens to disrupt a thriving marketplace, impacting future innovation. While it seems simple, unnecessary regulatory hurdles that require consumers to “opt-in” to almost all ISP uses of their web-browsing and app-usage information could choke the flow of data.

We believe consumers have a right to expect clarity about what information they share and how that information is used. And from a business perspective, ISPs and developers have a vested interest in maintaining their customers’ privacy to the highest standards, and have been exemplary data stewards. Developers and ISPs work hard to earn and maintain their customers’ trust and have been excellent practitioners of data’s golden rule: treat customer data in the same manner they treat their own data.

The FCC’s proposed rules would create regulations that stray from the adaptable, well-established, and successful FTC privacy guidelines that developers from an array of sectors have looked to for years. It also increases regulatory burdens that will slow innovation.

The expert in this area, the FTC, agrees. The FTC is an effective privacy cop, and the FTC’s staff itself said the outcomes from the FCC’s proposal are “not optimal.”

The FCC’s proposal does not distinguish between web-browsing and apps-usage information that consumers consider sensitive and non-sensitive. We live in a world where data drives significant social and economic benefits for all of us. Data-driven marketing alone added more than $200 million to the national economy in 2014. The FCC’s proposal could curb new business models that are dependent on the collection and monetization of data, while suffocating those applications consumers have already embraced.

ISPs and the developers who depend on them are thriving under the light-touch regulatory framework enforced by the FTC. The FCC’s efforts to inject new rules into the privacy arena are unnecessary in the eyes of innovators, and are a surefire way to drive up costs for consumers.

Rather than add more unnecessary government red-tape, we should continue to let the market work. Any company that is not a practitioner of the golden rule of data will have a tough time earning customer’s trust, and a tougher time earning their business.

Jake Ward is president and CEO of the Application Developers Alliance, an advocate for software developers and the companies invested in their success. Alliance members include industry leaders in consumer, enterprise, industrial, and emerging software development, and a global network of more than 75,000 developers.