July 9th, 2008
FTC opposes online privacy law
Google and Yahoo favor a national online privacy law, the companies’ lawyers told the Senate Commerce Committee but the Federal Trade Commission said its plans for industry self-regulation would solve the problem. Not at the hearing: the ISPs whose latest moves into tracking user behavior for better advertising were the trigger for the hearing.
“Google supports the passage of a comprehensive privacy law that would establish a uniform framework for privacy and procedures to punish bad actors,” said Jane Horvath, a senior privacy counsel for Google, The Times reports. Microsoft and Yahoo said the same.
“The commission is cautiously optimistic that the privacy issues raised by online behavioral advertising can be effectively addressed through self-regulation,” she said.
When questioned, Ms. Parnes declined to say when the commission plans to issue the final version of its plan, which will be voluntary.
“I am reluctant to give a specific time frame,” she said. “We are moving quickly on this.”
Republican Sen. Jim DeMint said the whole hearing was a solution in search of a problem. But chairman Bryan Dorgan (D-ND) said he would devote another session focusing directly on the ISPs. Still, Dorgan said, he didn’t know if he would introduce legislation on the issue.
