The Federal Trade Commission will hold a workshop on November 16 to address cross-device tracking.  The FTC’s announcement highlights two forms of cross-device tracking: “deterministic” tracking, which requires that a user log in to the same service across multiple devices, and “probabilistic” tracking, which collects data about users to create a digital fingerprint that links a user across different devices.

The FTC’s announcement notes that topics will include discussions of the different types of cross-device tracking, the information and benefits that companies and consumers may gain from these technologies, the associated privacy and security risks, methods to increase transparency, and whether current industry self-regulatory programs apply to different cross-device tracking techniques.  Interested parties have begun filing pre-workshop comments, which are posted on the FTC’s website.