Andy Sullivan
WASHINGTON: Several US lawmakers introduced a long-awaited privacy bill on
Wednesday that would allow US businesses to share information about customers
who have not explicitly forbidden them to do so.
More than a year in the making, the privacy bill unveiled in the House of
Representatives differs from a competing bill making its way through the Senate
that would require businesses to get consumers' explicit permission before
sharing sensitive information such as income level, religious affiliation or
political interests.
US Rep. Cliff Stearns' bill would instead leave companies free to share
customer profiles unless customers specifically forbade them.
The bill would cover transactions both on the Internet and in the
"offline" world, and would override state laws that place more
restrictions on commercial use of personal information. Sponsors said the bill
would establish basic privacy protections for consumers while minimizing the
impact on business.
Stearns, a Florida Republican whose consumer-protection subcommittee held six
hearings on privacy last year, said the free flow of consumer data has been a
cornerstone of the modern information-based economy.
"The underlying principle that anchors this bill is, 'do no harm,'
" he said. Consumers would have no right to sue if their privacy was
violated. Enforcement would be left in the hands of the Federal Trade
Commission, which usually does not impose fines on a first offense.
Companies submitting to a self-regulatory privacy regime such as TRUSTe or
BBBonline would enjoy protection from FTC actions.
While lawmakers have introduced dozens of privacy bills in the House since
the beginning of last year, none has attracted as much support as Stearns'
measure. The bill has lined up 22 co-sponsors from both sides of the aisle,
among them Rep. Billy Tauzin, the Louisiana Republican who chairs the House
Energy and Commerce Committee.
Rep. Rick Boucher, a Virginia Democrat, said businesses would be free to set
more restrictive privacy practices on their own as a way to market themselves.
"I'll predict a much greater level of Internet usage with these privacy
policies in place," Boucher said.
Initial reaction to the bill was mixed. A group of business leaders from
high-tech firms said the bill struck the right balance between consumers and
businesses, while the US Chamber of Commerce said it was not needed because
businesses could handle privacy concerns on their own.
Privacy advocates said the bill was a step backward, especially by not
providing extra protection for sensitive information. "Americans care about
sensitive information. This bill does not address those issues," said Ari
Schwartz, a senior policy analyst at the Center for Democracy and Technology.