SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico\u2014Whether it\u2019s Cambridge Analytica or Starwood Resorts, messy and highly publicized consumer data controversies impact every company dependent on such data\u2014regardless of their own practices. This was one of the main takeaways from a panel discussion at the recent Beet Retreat 2018<\/a> whose participants represented smart-TV data collector Inscape, analytics and measurement provider iSpot.tv and Nielsen Catalina Solutions.<\/p>\n A consensus also emerged during the session that ultimately, one or more companies will figure out how to compensate consumers for their data beyond simply dispensing coupons and swag, perhaps one of the major credit card providers.<\/p>\n The panel was moderated by consultant Howard Shimmel, most recently of Turner Broadcasting, who at the outset mentioned the Starwood data breach because it was in the headlines that very morning. He asked whether despite the availability of great content and technology, \u201cimmense demand and an appetite to scale,\u201d there will be enough data available given new legislation like GDPR in the European Union and CCPA in California.<\/p>\n Jodie McAfee of Inscape, a subsidiary of smart-TV manufacturer VIZIO, related the \u201cclassic case of no good deed goes unpunished\u201d that occurred in 2015. VIZIO had just pushed to TV owners notification of how it collects household viewing data and where the data ends up. One of those owners was a reporter for Pro Publica who wrote a mostly \u201cinaccurate\u201d story about how TV\u2019s can spy on them, according to McAfee.<\/p>\n \u201cTwo class action lawyers saw the article, found two plaintiffs and sued us and the rest was a complete mess,\u201d said McAfee.<\/p>\n Among the more interesting learnings from the whole episode, the Federal Trade Commission thought that the language explaining what VIZIO does with owners\u2019 viewing data was too buried. It should be \u201cseparate and prominent\u201d from the TV setup process, which is what VIZIO ended up doing.<\/p>\n \u201cUnless and until the consumer clicks \u2018I accept,\u2019 data collection is default off on our TV\u2019s, so it is a full, true opt-in regime,\u201d said McAfee<\/a>.<\/p>\n Another relevant learning was the FTC\u2019s view of the so-called value exchange that most advertising and media companies believe underpins the collection of consumer data. The government said \u201ceverybody needs to stop promising this idea that when the consumer opts in they\u2019re going to get these bells and whistles around greater search and recommendation or whatever. Just knock it off. That\u2019s not necessary and it\u2019s kind of bullshit. Just tell them what you\u2019re doing,\u201d McAfee said.<\/p>\n The architects of GDPR hold the same view, according to McAfee. \u201cIt\u2019s in GDPR. Don\u2019t promise anything special. Just be clear about what you\u2019re doing. That\u2019s all anybody cares about.\u201d<\/p>\n With an opt-in rate of 90% in the United States, \u201cWhat we\u2019ve learned is if you\u2019re front and center with it and you are completely transparent about what you\u2019re doing and how you\u2019re doing it, pretty much everybody, at least in the United States, they\u2019ll opt in and they\u2019re fine with it,\u201d McAfee added.<\/p>\n Robert Bareuther<\/a> of analytics and measurement firm iSpot.tv said the company gets \u201ca tremendous amount of raw data from our valued partner VIZIO and we take that raw data and we decipher it into how households view content\u201d and then measure business outcomes for advertisers. \u201cWe never see any private data, but it\u2019s very important to us that rules are followed and you don\u2019t breach anything. I think VIZIO\u2019s done a spectacular job of making sure that everything\u2019s on the up and up,\u201d said Bareuther.<\/p>\n Nielsen Catalina\u2019s Matt O\u2019Grady<\/a> said his company doesn\u2019t touch any personally identifiable information about consumers, \u201cbut our applications for measurement and targeting are highly dependent upon PII. I\u2019m dependent upon everybody in the ecosystem not violation or for lack of a better expression not screwing up.\u201d<\/p>\n As for the impact of Facebook\u2019s Cambridge Analytica misadventure, \u201cthat made our liability statements and our onboarding much more difficult than it had ever been before,\u201d said O\u2019Grady.<\/p>\n