It has been a while since I have posted, but found some worthy material to share. I guess it was daunting following the simple yet powerful Sheldon strip from April 25! (If you haven't seen it, go back and check it out. If you've not read McCarthy's The Road, DO IT! Fabulous! Anyway, on to today's morsel... potentially a great move toward further protection from invasive collection of consumer metadata.
Sen. John D. Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) on Monday introduced an online “do not track” privacy bill that would allow consumers to block Internet companies from following their activity on the Web.
The Do-Not-Track Online Act of 2011 comes amid increased attention by lawmakers on creating privacy rules for the Internet. The White House has called for such rules but has not supported a specific mandate that would block companies from tracking users.
Rockefeller, chairman of the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, said in a statement that recent reports of privacy breaches show that companies have too much freedom to collect user data on the Internet.
His legislation would force companies to abide by a consumer’s choice to opt out of such data collection. The Federal Trade Commission would draw up specific “do not track” rules. The agency and states’ attorneys general would enforce the law. And the legislation would apply to mobile phones — a growing platform for accessing the Internet.
“I believe consumers have a right to decide whether their information can be collected and used online,” Rockefeller said in a statement. “This bill offers a simple, straightforward way for people to stop companies from tracking their movements online.”
Already, Microsoft’s Bing and Mozilla’s Firefox browsers have been redesigned to allow users to block marketers from tracking what sites they visit and their other activities online.
But without a law, no Internet company is required to honor the consumer request, privacy groups said.
“This bill will put regulatory support behind these industry initiatives and make sure that online providers listen to the many consumers who want to clearly say ‘No’ to online tracking,” said Ioana Rusu, regulatory counsel for Consumers Union. “This complements the comprehensive online privacy legislation introduced by Senators [John] Kerry and [John] McCain last month.”
Tuesday, a new Senate privacy subcommittee will hear from Apple and Google, among others, about location data collection and whether the firms have been logging that information through mobile devices.
In the House, Reps. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Joe Barton (R-Tex.) said they are working on a “do not track” bill aimed at children.
NetChoice, a trade group representing Internet firms such as eBay and Yahoo, said new laws can hamper online commerce. Firms want to be able to deliver ads that are as targeted to individuals as possible for higher revenues.
“American consumers love how the Internet gives the information you want, when you want it, and location-based technology adds even more value since this info can also be tailored to right where you are,” said Steve DelBianco, executive director of NetChoice.
“Online services will make location-based info the next big thing in internet innovation, and we may be lucky enough to get advertisers to pay for a lot of it.”
Cecilia Kang
The Washington Post
PostTech Blog
04:23 PM ET, 05/09/2011
