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Reps. Barton and Markey vow to push ahead with ‘Do Not Track’ legislation
Reps. Joe Barton (R-Texas) and Ed Markey (D-Mass.) on Thursday vowed to pushed ahead with their Do Not Track Kids Act, despite voluntary privacy commitments from Web companies.
Google, Microsoft, Yahoo and hundreds of other companies in the Digital Advertising Alliance promised to work with the major Web browsers to create a “Do Not Track” button that will allow users to opt out of tracking by Internet advertisers with a single click.
Barton and Markey commended the administration’s work, but said voluntary commitments wouldn’t be enough to protect consumer privacy.
“I am happy the White House is taking consumer privacy serious, working with private industry to develop a privacy bill of rights for Internet companies to follow,” Barton said. “However, without the adoption of this list of ‘best practices’ by Internet companies, the new guidelines will not be enforceable. The absence of an enforcement mechanism means consumers remain unprotected. That is why I feel Congress must act to ensure transparency among Internet companies that engage in data collection and usage. I hope this first step energizes my colleagues to join me in pushing for stricter privacy measures that gives every consumer the power to decide how their personal information is used.”
Markey called the privacy framework “an important starting point.”
“Consumers, not corporations, should be in control of personal information,” he said. “Voluntary, self-regulatory efforts are not a substitute for laws that keep consumers’ information safe from prying eyes.”
The lawmakers’ Do Not Track Kids Act would restrict online marketing to children and create an “Eraser Button” for parents to delete information that companies gather about their children.
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