WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today U.S. Rep. Anna G. Eshoo (CA-18) released the following statement in response to a petition filed by Accountable Tech calling on the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to launch a rulemaking process to prohibit surveillance advertising:

"The ‘surveillance advertising' business model is premised on the unseemly collection and hoarding of personal data to enable ad targeting. This pernicious practice allows online platforms to chase user engagement at great cost to our society, and it enables online disinformation, discrimination, voter suppression, privacy abuses, and so many other harms. The surveillance advertising business model is irredeemably and fundamentally broken," said Eshoo. "I urge the FTC to initiate a rulemaking to ban surveillance advertising, as a petition filed with the Commission last week recommends. As I've stated previously, I'm working with colleagues and stakeholders on legislation that would ban surveillance advertising, and that legislation will be introduced in the coming weeks."

The petition can be found HERE.

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