The Federal Trade Commission leaders see algorithm destruction as an important penalty for alleged data abuse.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is pushing for companies to delete any algorithm that that has used data collected by illegal means. The FTC believes that move will make it address illegal data collection by dis-incentivising its collection in the first place.
FTC commissioner Rebecca Slaughter said she is looking to push remedies that addresses the problem’s core and makes illegal conduct seem less tempting. There is precendent for such drastic steps – Everalbum, an app that used facial recognition without obtaining people’s consent was forced to delete its algorithm.
A similar approach was used in 2019 against firm Cambridge Analytica when it misused Facebook data. Law firms working for tech firms expect the agency to issue civil investigative demands on issues of illegal data mining in the coming days.
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