Kerry to draft online privacy bill; FTC chairman doubts privacy will pass this year

Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) announced Tuesday he will pursue online privacy legislation to complement efforts in the House. Reps. Bobby Rush (D-Ill.) and Rick Boucher (D-Va.) have each drafted privacy legislation to rein in what companies can do with users' personal information.

“There is a lot of confusion in the public at large over what power they have over their information,” Kerry said at a hearing, citing the possibility that someone who searches for information on cancer could wind up facing hiked health insurance rates.

Analysts doubt privacy legislation will pass this year. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chairman Jon Leibowitz echoed that assessment as a witness at the hearing, noting the next Congress could be prime for taking up the issue.

"It's in [industry's] hands to avoid legislation," Leibowitz said, adding that there will be a "fair amount of interest in the next Congress" if companies fail to convince the public and Capitol Hill they are taking privacy measures seriously.

He said companies will be able to stave off online privacy legislation if they make serious efforts at self-regulation, adding that government can "use the bully pulpit" to convince the private sector to self-regulate and said holding hearings is a key step.

"A lot of companies realize their brands are enhanced by not doing things … in a gray area," he said.

Representatives from Google, Apple, Facebook and AT&T all took turns telling the committee they make strong efforts at consumer privacy and provide consumers with easy tools to control their personal data.

"We are the only major e-mail provider to encrypt all e-mail by default," said Google's privacy engineering lead Alma Whitten.

The panel questioned Leibowitz and FCC Chairman Genachowski about what privacy protection jurisdiction they have at their agencies. Both privacy bills would give power to the FTC to create stronger privacy codes.

Genachowski noted that the National Broadband Plan released in March called for a clearer framework on online privacy.