Privacy Legislation Status
If you feel that you've been seeing privacy in the news a lot lately, (such as in the preceding article) there's good reason. Privacy is a hot topic and as more and more businesses come online, it's only going to come more into focus. One thing is clear: as we bring more personal information online, there will be those for and those against it. The only way for e-commerce to survive is to establish clear rules and regulations.
In the last month, five legislative bills dealing with consumer privacy have been referred to house committees for review.
H.R. 347, which does not have a name yet, requires the Federal Trade Commission to prescribe regulations to protect the privacy of personal information collected from and about individuals on the Internet. It also provides greater individual control over collection and use of that information.
H.R. 237: The Consumer Internet Privacy Enhancement Act, declares it unlawful for a commercial Web site operator to collect personally identifiable information online from a Web site user unless the operator provides both notice and opportunity for such user to limit its use and disclosure. It also establishes a civil penalty for violations and permits similar civil actions to be pursued by the state courts.
H.R. 112: The Electronic Privacy Protection Act prohibits the import, export, manufacture, distribution, sale, offer for sale, installation, or use of an information collection device, without proper labeling or notice and consent.
H.R. 91: The Social Security On-line Privacy Protection Act regulates the use of Social Security account numbers and related personally identifiable information by interactive computer services.
H.R. 89: The Online Privacy Protection Act of 2001 requires the Federal Trade Commission to prescribe regulations to protect the privacy of personal information collected from and about individuals who are not covered by the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998, on the Internet, and to provide greater individual control over the collection and use of that data.
To keep up with the status of these bills, and to learn about other privacy bills, visit www.privacyheadquarters.com.
Notice to readers: These are archived articles. Contact names or information may be out of date. We regret any inconvenience.
© 2001, The Green Sheet, Inc.
