The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will convene a public workshop, Measuring Injuries and Benefits in the Data-Driven Economy, on February 26, 2026, in Washington, D.C., with a remote viewing option for online attendees. The event signals the agency’s continued focus on how consumer harm should be defined and evaluated when the “product” is often data—collected, analyzed, shared, and monetized across complex digital ecosystems. The FTC has positioned the workshop as a forum to examine both the potential advantages consumers receive from data-driven services and the injuries that can arise when data is misused, inadequately secured, or leveraged in ways consumers do not expect.
Unlike traditional consumer protection issues—where injury is often measurable in dollars or discrete physical outcomes—data-related harms can be intangible, delayed, or cumulative. Privacy losses, diminished autonomy, unwanted surveillance, and exposure to manipulation may not show up as immediate financial damages, yet they can meaningfully affect consumers. This measurement challenge is central to many modern policy debates: how should regulators and courts weigh injuries that are real, but not easily priced? The FTC’s workshop aims to explore practical frameworks for answering that question, especially as companies increasingly rely on personalization, analytics, and targeted advertising.
Key Topics on the Agenda
According to the FTC, the workshop will include panels and discussion on several areas that have become focal points for regulators, industry, and researchers. One core theme is quantifying “informational injuries” and benefits—developing methods to identify when data practices create net value for consumers versus when they create net harm. The agenda also highlights data breaches and their downstream impacts, which can include identity theft, financial fraud, heightened risk of phishing and scams, reputational damage, and ongoing exposure when compromised data circulates for years.
The workshop will also address advertising models that underpin much of the “free” internet. By examining behavioral and contextual advertising, the FTC is implicitly probing a central tradeoff in the data-driven economy: consumers may gain access to services at no monetary cost, but the exchange is often paid through personal information and attention. Finally, the agenda includes a focus on consumer privacy preferences, exploring how people perceive privacy, what disclosures and controls actually influence decision-making, and how market practices may or may not align with consumer expectations.
Why This Workshop Matters
The workshop comes at a time when the FTC’s approach to privacy and data security remains influential in the absence of a single comprehensive federal privacy law. How the agency articulates consumer injury—and what kinds of evidence it views as persuasive—can shape enforcement priorities, guide settlement expectations, and influence how businesses assess compliance risk. For organizations that collect or process consumer data, the event is a timely reminder that “harm” is not limited to direct financial loss. The FTC’s emphasis on measurement suggests an evolving enforcement landscape where intangible and probabilistic injuries may receive more structured attention.
For policymakers, the workshop provides a platform to test emerging ideas about accountability in digital markets. For companies, it is an opportunity to anticipate where standards may be heading—particularly around transparency, meaningful choice, data minimization, and security. And for the public, it offers a window into how regulators are thinking about the real-world consequences—both positive and negative—of a data-driven economy.
