Action On Privacy Focused In The House
July 20, 2010
| 12:55 PM
While the House is actively examining possible privacy legislation with the latest bill introduced Monday by a key Energy and Commerce lawmaker, at least one key senator says he doesn't see the Senate acting on privacy legislation this year.
Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., a senior member of the Senate Commerce Committee, has voiced concern about privacy implications of online behavioral advertising. But in a recent interview, he said crafting legislation has proven to be "very complicated," given the importance of advertising to help pay for content on the Internet. And with the limited amount of time left in the congressional legislative calendar, he said he doesn't think the Senate will act on the issue this year.
Still, Dorgan, who is retiring at the end of this Congress, said he believes there needs to be better legislative oversight of the growing online advertising industry.
Lawmakers on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, however, are moving forward on the issue. The Subcommittee on Commerce Trade and Consumer Protection will hold a hearing Thursday on privacy legislation introduced Monday by the panel's chairman, Bobby Rush, D-Ill., and a draft measure from Energy and Commerce Communications Subcommittee Chairman Rick Boucher, D-Va.
Rush's bill would allow Web sites and other firms covered by the bill to use online information collected about users but they must provide clear notice about what information is being collected and how it is used and an opportunity for consumers to opt out. It would require third parties to obtain consent before using consumer information. It does allow Web sites to obtain a safe harbor from some of the bill's provisions if they comply with a self-regulatory program approved by the FTC.
Boucher's draft privacy bill also would require a notice-and-consent and opt-out regime and require an opt-in for the use of the data by some unaffiliated third parties. However, third-party ad networks would be exempt from this opt-in requirement as long as they adhere to certain requirements. Privacy groups have been critical of Boucher's bill saying it does little to improve on the current self-regulatory system.
Center for Democracy and Technology President Leslie Harris praised Rush's bill, saying it "establishes a forward looking and flexible framework for protecting consumer privacy." She added that it builds on the "sound privacy principles set out in Rep. Boucher's earlier draft and provides the robust set of fair information practices that CDT has called for it.
Harris is expected to testify at Thursday's hearing as well as the FTC's David Vladeck, the U.S. Public Interest Research Group's Ed Mierzwinski, Intel's David Hoffman and New York University Law School Professor Ira Rubinstein.
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