Sources say FTC in the United States will expand online privacy regulations to restrict App data collection.

CTOnews.com, August 11 (Xinhua)-- the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will begin working on federal rules to expand online privacy protection as soon as Thursday local time, according to the Wall Street Journal.

It is reported that, if passed, these rules may require companies that deal with consumer data to bear significant responsibility, including the possibility of banning the collection of certain types of data.

People familiar with the matter said it could take years for the new FTC rules to be formally promulgated, and that the committee could "take several different paths."

In addition, Congress is considering legislation to give Americans more control over their personal data, but it is not clear whether the current Congress has enough votes to pass. Some state attorneys general are concerned that the bill may lead to stricter privacy standards at the state level.

CTOnews.com knows that they think FTC can also use its law enforcement powers against individual technology companies, as some privacy advocates have urged.

The current US president has previously ordered the FTC to study competition rules in a number of areas, including "unfair data collection and monitoring practices that may undermine competition, consumer autonomy and consumer privacy".

Some privacy advocates have called on the agency to ban "monitoring advertising" as an unfair form of competition, such as Meta.

As online and other platforms accumulate large amounts of consumer search data and other information, activists argue that the United States still lacks a law to protect consumer privacy. Many privacy advocates are particularly concerned about children because they are more attracted to targeted online advertisements and algorithms.