Mike Wehrs, erstwhile mobile evangelist at Nuance Communications, has stepped up to the presidency of the Mobile Marketing Association by rapidly responding to criticisms from the self-appointed groups protecting the privacy of mobile subscribers. Prompted by a complaint filed with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) by The Center for Digital Democracy and the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, Wehrs asked for more specifics. According to a report by Colin Gibb in the RCR Wireless Newsletter, Wehrs took the time to read the complaint and noted that it was long on platitudes and short on specifics.
The filing from the two public interest groups was something of a pre-emptive strike. While not citing specifics regarding violations, it listed several remedies, including a deeper investigation of "the impact of interactive, targeted advertising" on the market; indentification of "marketing practices that compromise user privacy and consumer welfare"; examination of "opt-in procedures to ensure consumers receive full disclosure of what data is being collected and its future use"; and finally, the issuance of "policies and actions that halt current practices that abuse consumer rights" in order to "recommend legislation that prevent such abuses in the future."

General concerns over privacy have had a chilling effect on network-based innovation - with the delay of the roll-out of CallerID as a prime example. Wehrs is right to stand up to general objections and to state that the industry is happy to address specific concerns as they arise, but not at the detriment of companies that are introducing new services that leverage GPS, search and ecommerce.

As Wehrs notes, “The industry needs to be held accountable to behave responsibly. If the industry doesn't behave responsibly there needs to be an escalation path. But I think we have indicated we are behaving responsibly.” Yet according to Gibbs' report, there could be some tightening of enforcement of rules surrounding "opt-in" practices. But they should not be so cumbersome as to discourage introduction of innovative new services.