Jennifer Valentino-Devries and Emily Steel
The Wall Street Journal
3/16/2011
The Obama administration plans to ask Congress Wednesday to pass a “privacy bill of rights” to protect Americans from intrusive data gathering, amid growing concern about the tracking and targeting of Internet users.
Lawrence E. Strickling, an assistant secretary of commerce, is expected to call for the legislation at a hearing of the Senate Commerce Committee, said a person familiar with the matter.
This person said the administration will back a law that follows the outlines of a report issued by the Commerce Department in December. The administration wants any new rules to be enforceable and will look to expand the Federal Trade Commission’s authority, this person said…
…The administration’s plan to push for legislation reflects a shifting attitude by the government, which for more than a decade favored a hands-off approach to the Internet. Officials have said the increasing intrusiveness of online tracking has forced them to reassess that approach…
…The Commerce Department’s December report suggested creating a privacy bill of rights but, until now, the administration hasn’t called for specific legislation. The person familiar with the matter said officials would “begin a process of working with Congress on defining” the privacy protections to be included in the law.
Several legislative proposals on privacy have been circulated on Capitol Hill in recent weeks. Sens. John McCain, an Arizona Republican, and John Kerry, a Massachusetts Democrat, have been distributing a draft bill that broadly tracks the Commerce recommendations, which were developed in part by Sen. Kerry’s brother Cameron. [emphasis CAJ]
The complete article at The Wall Street Journal
This reminds us of the old joke about how the government hates competition. Our question: who will protect internet users from the FTC and the government? ~CAJ
