May 13, 2011 – In the span of one week, two new bills calling for “Do Not Track” provisions were introduced in Congress, increasing the pressure on lawmakers to address the various versions of Do Not Track legislation that have been introduced during the past few months.
On May 9, Sen. John D. “Jay” Rockefeller IV (D-W. Va.), Chairman
of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, introduced the “Do-Not-Track Online Act of 2011,” a bill that is designed to empower consumers to opt out of having their activities tracked online. This bill calls for a mandatory browser-based Do Not Track mechanism and would set time limits regarding how long a company could keep any data that is collected online.
“Recent reports of privacy invasions have made it imperative that we do more to put consumers in the driver’s seat when it comes to their personal information,” Rockefeller said in introducing the bill. “I believe consumers have a right to decide whether their information can be collected and used online. This bill offers a simple, straightforward way for people to stop companies from tracking their movements online.”
House Co-chairmen of the Bi-Partisan Congressional Privacy Caucus Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas) also introduced a bill on May 6 that amends the Children’s Online Privacy Act of 1998 to “extend, enhance and update the provisions relating to the collection, use and disclosure of children’s personal information and establishes new protections for personal information of children and teens,” according to a press release.
The “Do Not Track Kids Act of 2011” aims to protect children on the Internet, which is “their new 21st century playground,” Markey said. It calls for parental consent of the collection of children’s information and would establish a “digital marketing bill of right for teens.”
These two bills join four other privacy bills introduced previously by Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.)/Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.), Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.), and Rep. Bobby L. Rush (D-Ill.). Of these bills, the Kerry/McCain bill is the only privacy legislation that does not call for a Do Not Track mechanism.
The Coalition for Healthcare Communication opposes mandatory Do Not Track provisions and believes that consumer privacy and robust Internet commerce is better served by self-regulation that enables easy consumer opt-outs of unwanted tracking and marketing. As such, the Kerry/McCain bill is the most palatable to industry “because it recognizes the value of self-regulation,” said John Kamp, the Coalition’s executive director. “We want to be able to move forward to protect consumers in a more collaborative way,” he added.viagra for cheap