Senate approves reauthorization of Safe Web Act

The Senate on Wednesday voted in favor of reauthorizing a House bill aimed at expanding the powers the Federal Trade Commission has to clamp down on Internet fraud and online scammers.

The Safe Web Act enables the FTC to share information about cross-border fraud with foreign law enforcement authorities and expands the type of fraud that the agency can take legal action against. The bill was first passed in 2006 and the reauthorized version is now headed to the president's desk to be signed into law.

Rep. Mary Bono Mack (R-Calif.), the lead co-sponsor of the bill, said the measure will help protect Americans from online scammers and maintain a healthy market for e-commerce.

“Frankly, I’m very concerned that e-commerce in the future will cease to grow and flourish if consumers lose faith in their ability to be protected from online predators, jeopardizing future innovation as well as our nation’s fragile economic recovery," Bono Mack said in a statement. "That’s why reauthorizing the Safe Web Act has been one of my top priorities this year.” 

At a hearing earlier this year, an FTC official urged lawmakers to reauthorize the bill and said it helped the trade agency crack down on Internet fraud that would have cost Americans hundreds of millions of dollars.