Two consumer groups plan to ask the Federal Trade Commission today to “investigate the privacy threats of mobile advertising,” according to the FTC.
The Center for Digital Democracy and the U.S. Public Interest Research Group believe that “mobile advertising companies are collecting vast amounts of information about consumers and their behavior, without fully disclosing it, in an effort to better target their sales pitches.”
“They know your location, they’re profiling you and categorizing you,” said Jeffrey Chester, executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy. “It’s disturbing.”
Of course, if one goes down this road of “violated privacy”, there are many other non-mobile avenues one could similarly take, yet the mobile marketing sector will at present be in the hot seat.
Mike Wehrs, chief executive of the Mobile Marketing Association, defended his industry’s track record and called more regulation unnecessary. He supported companies that “collect consumer information, saying it ensures that mobile phone users are shown relevant ads rather than spam.”
