Starks Cautions Broadcasters on ATSC 3.0 Data Privacy

Broadcasters should act now on data privacy concerns about ATSC 3.0, before the tech gets too far along, FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks told public TV officials at the America’s Public Television Stations Public Media Summit Tuesday. Since 3.0 will allow broadcasters to collect data on their viewers in ways they haven’t been able to do previously, broadcasters should ensure they will be “good actors” with private data, he said. Unlike MVPDs, broadcasters don’t have a contractual relationship with their viewers, which complicates privacy concerns since viewers don't have an opportunity to opt in or out of data collection, he said. Starks said he’s concerned about the possible sale of viewer data, such as real-time location information. APTS CEO Patrick Butler said in an interview Tuesday that public TV stations support protecting consumer privacy in 2.0 and have no plans to sell consumer data. Starks said industry and the FCC should work together on the issue, but he stopped short of endorsing NAB’s call for an FCC ATSC 3.0 task force (see 2302160056). “Figuring out the right mechanism to make sure that [ATSC 3.0] gets going is something that I'm working on,” Starks said in response to a question about the task force proposal.