Advertisers, edge providers and legislators are giving the Federal Trade Commission an earful over a petition by Accountable Tech to ban so-called surveillance online advertising as anti-competitive “unfair competition.”

That includes claims by advertisers that granting the petition would imperil trillions of dollars in U.S. gross domestic product.

By “surveillance,” Accountable Tech means ads based on tracking and profiling data that allows the hyper-targeted ads that sponsors point out are part of the ad-based model of free online content.

In comments to the FTC about the petition, the Association of National Advertisers said banning data-driven targeted ads would “stifle” internet-based advertising, threatening “trillions of dollars” in economic activity. That is based on the fact that the Internet economy contributed $2.45 trillion of the U.S. $21.18 trillion GDP, said ANA.

A ban would mean “a swift decrease in the availability of accessible information for consumers, cripple the economy and disproportionately impact small and midsize businesses,” ANA told the FTC.

The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) called the ban petition “baseless,” and discounted it as “a self-interested stunt manufactured by competitors” seeking to “declare the commercial internet itself an unfair business practice." Accountable Tech does not identify its backers.

IAB CEO David Cohen said data use and customized ads predate the internet, and simply banning them "would be a devastating blow to jobs, economic growth and innovation.”

Taking the other side, Democratic Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.) and Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) told the FCC that they support the petition, branding such ads as “the internet’s Original Sin” and a “time bomb” along the lines of the subprime mortgage crisis. 

“The surveillance advertising business model is premised on the unseemly collection and hoarding of personal data to enable ad targeting,” they told the agency. “Companies collect huge amounts of data to maximize user engagement because it increases ad revenue. The FTC should evaluate the harms to society and individuals, as we believe they vastly outweigh the benefits.”

They were hardly alone in advocating for the FTC to step into the online advertising space.

“[S]urveillance on such a scale represents an unprecedented interference with the right to privacy that cannot be compatible with the companies’ responsibility to respect human rights,” said Amnesty International.

“[T]he benefits of surveillance advertising do not outweigh the harms, since relevant ads can be delivered to consumers in a much less privacy-intrusive manner through contextual advertising,” the Consumer Federation of America said.

“As noted in Accountable Tech’s petition, surveillance advertising causes serious harm to both the market and individuals,” Public Knowledge said. “The commission’s dual role as both a competition agency and a consumer-protection agency make it the ideal administrative body to promulgate rules to curb abusive practices by the online advertising ecosystem.”

Lawmakers Weigh In

The issue is also playing out on the legislative front.

A bill was introduced two weeks ago, the Banning Surveillance Advertising Act, that would ban the use of personal information to target most online advertising.

The bill was introduced by Eshoo and Booker along with Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.). IAB said of the bill last week that the sponsors must not understand the degree to which the bill would “effectively eliminate internet advertising in the United States, jeopardizing an estimated 17 million jobs primarily at small- and medium-sized businesses.” ■

The Wire was monitoring that indispensable cable-provided public service outlet, C-SPAN, when Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) came to the witness table to testify against Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), a fellow member of the Judiciary Committee and Donald Trump’s nominee for attorney general.

One senator testifying against another at a nomination hearing is almost unheard of. Booker conceded it was an “exceptional” move, but said he had to put the country and his conscience above senatorial tradition.

While he began his testimony by acknowledging he had worked collegially, and with mutual respect, with Sessions on legislation, the thrust of his testimony was the following:

“Senator Sessions has not demonstrated a commitment to a central requirement of the job – to aggressively pursue the congressional mandate of civil rights, equal rights and justice for all. In fact, at numerous times in his career, he has demonstrated a hostility toward these convictions and has worked to frustrate attempts to advance these ideals,” he said. But there was more.

“If confirmed, Senator Sessions will be required to pursue justice for women, but his record indicates that he won’t.

“He will be expected to defend the equal rights of gay and lesbian Americans, but his record indicates that he won’t.

“He will be expected to defend voting rights, but his record indicates that he won’t.

“He will be expected to defend the rights of immigrants and affirm their human dignity, but his record indicates he won’t.

“His record indicates that as attorney general he would obstruct the growing national bipartisan movement toward criminal justice reform.”

The Wire’s assessment: Hardly an endorsement.

Having gotten C-SPAN’s unfiltered view of the testimony, imagine our surprise when President-elect Trump’s transition team emailed a glowing press release under the headline: “What They Are Saying: U.S. Sen. Schumer and Top Democrats Praise U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions,” and leading with this: “Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ): ‘Blessed And Honored to Have Partnered With Senator Sessions’ in Passing Legislation That Awarded 1965 Voting Rights Marches Foot Soldiers With the Congressional Gold Medal.” But the release conveniently omitted the “thrust” of the testimony.

It reminded us of those dot-dot-dot movie reviews, like: “I wish I could … see … it again,” when the review was: “I wish I could have left the theater after the opening credits. I hope I never see it or its like again.”

The Wire asked Booker’s office for any comment on the Trump team’s selective take on the senator’s testimony. A staffer suggested it spoke for itself. Well, at least on C-SPAN it did.

CES 2017: This Is Not The Android TV Box You’re Looking For

CES, the annual gadget-fest in Las Vegas, typically borders on the surreal and the real when it comes to the consumer products that are on display on the floor. While many are products that will come to retail this year, others are better placed in the wishful thinking category.

Such was the case again this month when, at CES, multiple news outlets stumbled on and reported about an Android TV-powered device supposedly branded by Disney. Word was that The Mouse was on the cusp of launching a customized, kid-friendly $99 OTT box, called Kids TV, that would come pre-packed with exclusive Disney content.

Or not.

According to an official for SnakeByte, a maker of gaming accessories that had the device on display, the box reported on was merely a “speculative prototype” being demonstrated as the company looked to enter exploratory talks about obtaining a license from Disney for some EMEA territories.

But it was likewise strange that the reports talked up specific details like pricing and product launch timing, with one report noting that a Disney-branded tablet was also in the works.

The Wire (which failed to be snake-bitten, at least not this time) hears that those news outlets were apparently given some not-ready-for-primetime info from an overly exuberant person at the SnakeByte booth.

— Jeff Baumgartner

Day two of the Democratic convention (Tuesday, July 26), with speakers including Elizabeth Warren, Cory Booker and former President Bill Clinton, continued to dominate the list of most-Tweeted TV shows according to Nielsen Social, but was down markedly from the first night, which featured Michelle Obama and Bernie Sanders' much anticipated reconciliation speech.

Tuesday night's coverage on broadcast and cable nets drew a total of 1,657,000 Tweets from 389,000 unique authors, more than ten times its nearest competitor, WWE SmackDown on USA Networks with 133,000 from 33,000 uniques.

Rounding out the top five were The Bachelorette on ABC with 110,000/53,000; America's Got Talent on NBC at 46,000/20,000 and Scream on MTV with 33,000/6,000.

Day three's combination of President Barack Obama, Vice Presidential candidate Tim Kaine and former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg is likely to best that Day two number. Totals will be released later today (July 28).

Fusion announced a RiseUp gathering today, to be filled with global activists, artists, technologists and political leaders, as they discuss positive changes for global protesting.

The youth-led activism summit is set for Nov. 19 in Union Market, Washington DC, where the role of technology, music and art in movements across the U.S. will be highlighted.

“New information technologies and modes of thinking are redefining and enabling social activism. RiseUp will bring together people for the first time who have been involved in historic movements around the world, to give these youthful leaders an unprecedented opportunity to learn from each other and understand the potential and possibilities of these movements,” saidchair of RiseUp, Marcus Brauchli in a release.

The event hopes to connect youth ideas to action, with speakers including Senator Cory Booker, U.S. Ambassador of the United Nations, Samantha Power and many more.

The content partners involved with Fusion for RiseUp include Brigade, Ryot, Summit and Unicef. To learn more, click here. RiseUp will also be available for live-streaming on Fusion as well.

Speakers and Panelists Include:

Samantha Power--US Ambassador the United Nations

Cory Booker – Senator, New Jersey

Nadya Tolokonikova and Masha Alyokhina – Pussy Riot

Michael Tubbs – City Councilmember from documentary "True Son"

Wael Ghonim – Internet activist, Egypt

Ian Somerhalder – Actor and Activist

Walid Al-Saqaf – Cyber activist, Yemen

Caitria O'Neil – Founder, recovers.org

Gisela Perez de Acha – Activist, 132 movement, Mexico

Benjamin Knight – Founder, Loomio, New Zealand

Aliya Rahman – Program director, Code for Progress

Naomi Hirabayashi – Dosomething.org

Maria Ressa – CEO, Rappler

Gayle Karen Young – Wikimedia Foundation

Mike Kim – Human rights activist, North Korea

Dante Barry – Million Hoodies Movement

Eileen Guo – Impassion Media

Yon Goicoechea – Opposition activist, Venezuela

Liu Lin Wei – Taiwan

David Burstein – Author of Fast Future: How the Millennial Generation is Shaping Our World

Sascha Meinrath – Founder, X-lab

Marvin Ammori – Net neutrality activist

Chia-liang Kao – Founder, g0v.tw

Jo-Anne McArthur – Photographer, animal rights activist, "The Ghosts In Our Machine"

Liz Marshall – Director, "The Ghosts In Our Machine"

Karim Amer – Producer, "The Square"

Chernor Bah – Youth activist

Cansu Yapici – Taksim Solidairty, Turkey

Madison Stewart – a.k.a. Shark Girl

David Keyes – Founder, movements.orh

Marc Rotenberg – Executive director, EPIC

Emily Jacobi – Founder, Digital Democracy

Iris Andrews--Greenpeace

Bryn Mooser – Founder of RYOT

Sofia Campos – Board Chair, United We Dream

Jorge Ramos – Emmy award-winning journalist, Anchor of Fusion’s “America”

Tim Pool – Award-winning journalist, notorious for use of mobile technology in reporting

Alicia Menéndez – Host of Fusion's “Alicia Menendez Tonight”