In November 2006, the Federal Trade Commission held a huge conference on the challenges that American consumers would face in the next "Tech-Ade." The groan-inducing title aside, the event was a chance for the Commission staff to hear from assorted technology experts about the key issues that the FTC would have to police over the next ten years. Now, a year and a half after the conference, the Commission has finally written up (PDF) the "major trends identified at the hearings." They are old news by now (social networking is hot!), but the document does give us some insight into FTC priorities; hopefully, the Commission can deliver on its goals of ensuring consumer data privacy, monitoring behavioral advertising, and working globally to combat spam and spyware.

"Flogging" online

One of the main trends identified in the report is the shift from consumer to consumer/producer. Blogs and user-generated content sites continue to blur the line between the consumers and the producers of content. The FTC notes that it can be difficult for Internet surfers to know if an "amateur" site is really an authentic outlet for someone's personal opinion.

Pay-per-post schemes are already targeting bloggers, and the Commission has had to issue guidance on this sort of marketing that strongly suggests it must be disclosed. Fake blogs (flogs), like the ones set up by Sony to promote the PSP, also try to gain authenticity by masquerading as homegrown labors of love. And while most established media sites have policies designed to keep editorial and advertising separate, blogs may have no such rules in place.

For the FTC, this explosion of media outlets "will make the task of monitoring advertising all the more difficult." But for consumers, it will also grow more difficult to separate out authenticity from PR. At least the Commission is aware of the issues in this area, though whether the FTC's "substantial consumer education efforts" will clear up online confusion remains to be seen.

Global spam smackdown

The FTC report also noted the global nature of threats faced by Internet users, something that has hampered the Commission's ability to crack down on things like spam and spyware. Spyware, for instance, is often distributed using "a complex system of affiliates and sub-affiliates to distribute their products to consumers, with each entity in the distribution chain receiving a financial benefit." Spam, too, has long been an international phenomenon that makes any one country's efforts to stop it ineffective.

To take on these problems, the Commission is using powers given to it in the 2006 US SAFE WEB Act (a ridiculously titled "acronym" bill that stands for Undertaking Spam, Spyware, and Fraud Enforcement with Enforcers Beyond Borders Act). The FTC now partners with 19 consumer protection agencies from 15 different countries to combat spam, it is a member of the International Consumer Protection and Enforcement Network, and it has signed Memoranda of Understanding with consumer protection agencies in Australia, Canada, China, the UK, and more.

So, err, how's that spam crackdown going? My inbox says, "not so well."

Unfortunately, spam, spyware, and other Internet threats come from all parts of the globe, and the FTC has as one of its priorities "outreach to the appropriate enforcement authorities in developing nations." Good luck.

DRM: It better be labelled

Finally, the FTC recognizes that consumers want interoperability, and they therefore tend not to like DRM. While the FTC doesn't see its job as making sure that products are interoperable, it will work to "ensure that consumers are provided sufficient information prior to purchase so that they understand any inherent limitations on the use of the products they buy."

Case in point: the Sony BMG rootkit fiasco, a case in which the Commission actually did charge the company with deception for not informing consumers that certain CDs contained DRM that limited their usefulness.

While all of these priorities sound good, our main question concerns how effectively they will be translated into action. While the FTC has in fact shown a willingness to go after spammers, spyware vendors, and companies like Sony BMG, the agency's efforts don't appear to have done much to stem the flow of Internet annoyances. When it comes to dealing with established companies that actually have to respond to government investigations and tend to care about public opinion, the Commission's work has been more valuable.

But, hey, as long as it continues to run the national Do Not Call list, we'll be happy.