"The FTC has cracked down on companies that violate their own privacy policies on how they handle data, but have a lot of latitude as long as they comply with their own policies, said University of Washington law professor Ryan Calo.
He points to the incident in March when Microsoft revealed it had searched a user's Hotmail account for information on someone allegedly leaking corporate information. Even though the search did not violate Microsoft's privacy policy, it pledged it would no longer conduct those kinds of searches.
Calo says companies have to be very careful not to use data in ways "not anticipated by the consumer."
Tracking consumers without a legitimate purpose could potentially open Uber up to regulatory investigation or enforcement or investigation from state attorneys general, he said.
"I think we all agree this it not what anyone expects as an internal business purpose," he said."
- Date Published:11/19/2014
- Original Publication:USA Today