On August 10, 2022, Secretary Rohit Chopra spoke on the topic of consumer protection in the digital world at the 2022 National Association of Attorneys General Presidential Summit in Des Moines, Iowa. Director Chopra addressed the digital state of his marketing and advertising in an increasingly digital world.

Chopra began his remarks by discussing the shift in advertising by businesses from traditional methods of buying time and space in newspapers, radio and television to more targeted digital advertising. In this digital ad, a team of digital sales forces, “armed with each consumer’s personalized and detailed paperwork,” seeks to “develop psychometrics for each individual user through monitoring of the devices and services accessed across the digital world.” serve personalized ads to consumers based on their “graphic profile”. Companies are obsessed with using technology to “follow” consumers across the digital world as they seek to generate revenue not just by broadcasting ads but by persuading consumers to click on them. It is designed to As a result, Chopra said, “More and more Americans are experiencing the feeling of being digitally stalked by certain advertising content.”

Chopra emphasized the effectiveness of this personalized digital marketing, referring to former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson, who sued Facebook for allegedly violating the Fair Housing Act. Carson has accused Facebook of helping advertisers limit the audience of their ads and allowing advertisers to target specific groups of people by excluding protected classes.Carson The secretary claimed that Facebook had developed a system that intentionally excluded certain individuals from viewing the same ads. This is because a consumer’s digital profile did not match the “composite consumer” that Facebook determined was most likely to engage with advertising. As director Chopra pointed out, “Facebook’s ad serving system prevented advertisers who wanted to reach a broad audience from doing so.” If you try to do so, Facebook’s ad serving system will forbid it.

In a meeting with the Attorney General, Chopra explained that states’ role in policing illegal activity in consumer financial services and that the Consumer Financial Protection Act “explicitly gives states the power to take enforcement action against covered financial companies.” and limited the authority of the federal government.” A preemptive attack reappears. Note that the law exempts some service providers who play no significant role in the provision of financial products or services. Features that go far beyond exemptions. To address this issue, the CFPB has issued an Interpretive Rule explaining that the “time or space” service provider exemption generally does not apply to digital marketing services offered by major platforms. He said the law could be enforced by state attorneys general.

Chopra concluded his remarks by saying that advances in technology “have prompted tech giants to scramble to seize our sensitive financial data or circumvent existing laws other companies must comply with.” It should serve our economic and social progress rather than encourage it.” Spotlighting the latest initiatives the CFPB has taken to prepare for the future of consumer finance and highlighting plans for the future, Secretary Chopra concluded his remarks by saying: Become a partner in rooting out lawbreakers and keeping markets fair for consumers and honest businesses. “

A full copy of his remarks can be found here.