The Commerce Department, the Federal Trade Commission and the president all have their views on protecting consumers. One issue is a "do not track" option for consumers.
The Commerce Department is concerned but wants the industry to police itself. Commerce wants to continue the common practice that relies on user agreements. Companies would post their privacy policies online and consumers would check a box agreeing or not agreeing to abide by them. A Commerce report is due to be released soon with this view.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will also be releasing a report with a different view. The FTC is considering a tougher standard, one that calls for a "do not track" list, like the "do not call" list. This would be part of the browser or a function on the website accessed.
It appears that there is some competition between the agencies. The first to release a report may have greater influence on the outcome.
The New York Times article "Stage Set for Showdown on Online Privacy" by Edward Wyatt and Tanzina Vega, was published November 9, 2010 and covers this issue in more detail. The article states:
Consumer advocates worry that the competing agendas of economic policy makers in the Obama administration, who want uniform international standards, and federal regulators, who are trying to balance consumer protection and commercial rights, will neglect the interests of people most affected by the privacy policies. "I hope they realize that what is good for consumers is ultimately good for business," said Susan Grant, director of consumer protection at the Consumer Federation of America.
The White House, meanwhile, has broader goals. It set up its own interagency panel that will look at how to protect consumers while also making United States companies more competitive internationally. It also wants to ensure that any restrictions do not impede law enforcement and national security efforts.
Which agency or group leads the debate could go a long way toward determining the result.
The White House, meanwhile, has broader goals. It set up its own interagency panel that will look at how to protect consumers while also making United States companies more competitive internationally. It also wants to ensure that any restrictions do not impede law enforcement and national security efforts.
Which agency or group leads the debate could go a long way toward determining the result.
You can be sure that some in Congress will weigh in on this issue. It appears that this issue may be one of the few bipartisan efforts. The House and Senate members of both parties have called for companies to account for intrusions and breaches of consumer privacy.
A second New York Times article, "E.U. Says It Will Overhaul Privacy Regulations" by Eric Pfanner was published November 4, 2010, focusing on the reaction of the European Commission (EC) to increasing privacy concerns. The EC is calling for better protection of Internet users’ personal information. This reaction was prompted by the news of data leaks at companies like Facebook and Google.
The New York Times article stated:
Viviane Reding, the justice commissioner, announced [an] intention to overhaul the European Union's data protection rules to take account of the development of social networking, personalized advertising and other Web services that have raised privacy concerns. The new legislation, set to be introduced next year, would replace rules that date to 1995 [now outdated with the growth of Internet services and social networking].
"The protection of personal data is a fundamental right," Ms. Reding said. "To guarantee this right, we need clear and consistent data protection rules. We also need to bring our laws up to date with the challenges raised by new technologies and globalization."
The commission said consumers should be informed "in a clear and transparent way" about how their data will be used. They should also have the right to fully delete digital information, like social networking profiles, and should be informed when their data has been used in unlawful ways, the commission added.
"The protection of personal data is a fundamental right," Ms. Reding said. "To guarantee this right, we need clear and consistent data protection rules. We also need to bring our laws up to date with the challenges raised by new technologies and globalization."
The commission said consumers should be informed "in a clear and transparent way" about how their data will be used. They should also have the right to fully delete digital information, like social networking profiles, and should be informed when their data has been used in unlawful ways, the commission added.
Google's collection of information such as e-mail messages and passwords when it gathered pictures for its Street View online mapping service set off alarms. Data protection officials in U.K . believe that this was a "significant breach" of privacy laws. Other European countries are also investigating the Google data collection.
You can bet that the companies like Google, Microsoft, social networking sites and those that make money from advertising and information sales will be watching closely. Their revenue may be at stake.
What could be a problem are inconsistent rules and regulations around the world. Looking at it from the companies' viewpoint, this could present some real privacy implementation problems. Enterprises may also be impacted by new privacy regulations that would vary by country. Finally, inconsistent and stronger privacy regulations could hamper the growth of international cloud based services.
