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Rockefeller introduces bill to limit online tracking
Sens. Jay Rockfeller (D-W.Va.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) introduced legislation on Thursday that would give Internet users the right to opt out of online tracking.
The Do Not Track Online Act would instruct the Federal Trade Commission to issue regulations requiring online companies to honor a user's request not to have information collected about their online activities. The FTC and state attorneys general would have authority to penalize companies that violate the request.
“Online companies are collecting massive amounts of information, often without consumers’ knowledge or consent,” Rockefeller, the chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, said in a statement. “Consumers should be empowered to make their own decision about whether their information can be tracked and used online."
Rockefeller first introduced Do Not Track legislation in 2011. At a White House event in early 2012, a coalition of Internet companies said they would work together to voluntarily implement a Do Not Track option for users.
Talks between advertisers, browser makers and other Internet companies have stalled, and more than a year after the announcement, there is still no functional way for users to block online tracking.
"Industry stood at the White House and made a public pledge to honor do-not-track requests, but has since failed to live up to that commitment," Rockefeller said. "My bill gives consumers the opportunity to simply say ‘no thank you’ to anyone and everyone collecting their online information. Period.”
Advertisers argue that tracking users' online activities allows them to deliver more useful and valuable ads. They claim that tracking is necessary to support many popular free online services.
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