Barton, Stearns, Doyle featured on Facebook

It's not every day that you find three Congressmen featured in a Facebook blog post.

But today is Data Privacy Day. As we speak, the Federal Trade Commission is hosting a privacy workshop in Berkeley, Calif. 

And given the plans of Rep. Rick Boucher (D-Va.) to introduce legislation to improve online privacy protection for consumers, Facebook and other Internet companies are trying to show how much they already care about the privacy of their users--and that such legislation is not necessary.

Here's an excerpt from Facebook's blog post:

Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas), ranking member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and Co-Chair of the Congressional Privacy Caucus:

My information is mine. I have the right to know exactly what information people are gathering about me—and exactly what they are doing with it. Regardless of the regulated status of a company or the specific data-gathering technology that a company is using, both public attention and our policy focus should remain on the protection of Americans' privacy.

Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.), ranking member of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications, Technology and the Internet:

More often than not, all of our electronic communications leave behind a digital fingerprint that opens the potential for abuse if the information is in the wrong hands. That is why it is pertinent that we take the initiative to draw awareness to the importance of protecting sensitive personal information—including health and financial data—from misuse and theft....

I have introduced H. Res. 902 in an effort to call attention to the privacy challenges of electronic communications and technologies and to underscore the importance of data privacy in a rapidly changing environment.

Rep. Mike Doyle (D-Penn.), House Energy and Commerce Committee:

Getting off the Internet isn't going to stop some database from collecting information about you. Practically the only way to prevent anyone else knowing anything about you is to literally shut yourself off from the outside world. And that only works if you don't like human interaction and you don't mind missing out on services like Facebook that bring you and your friends closer together or that help us find the information we want to know. After all, it's hard to look something up unless someone else has shared it....

There have been preliminary discussions about legislation to better protect Americans online privacy, but most members of the House and Senate need to know more about this issue.

Find more information about the FTC's workshop here.