FTC chief weighs in on online privacy report. Under the leadership of Chairman Jon Leibowitz, the Federal Trade Commission has taken what few dispute is a firm stance on the issue of digital privacy. Last year, the commission forced Google and Facebook to submit to 20 years of regular privacy audits after accusing the tech giants of violating their own stated policies. In late March, the FTC issued its long-awaited final privacy report, laying out standards that could begin to define the personal boundaries of the digital age.
Leibowitz, named chairman by President Obama in 2009 and reappointed last month, visited the Bay Area this week to meet with a number of tech companies including Square and Mozilla. On Thursday morning, he sat down with a handful of reporters for a wide-ranging conversation on the state of online privacy. The FTC can't create laws, but does have the power to punish "unfair or deceptive acts or practices in or affecting commerce. " Leibowitz disputed that characterization. Violations shape policy Progress made. CU Poll: Consumers want government to protect Internet privacy. Two-thirds of consumers believe the government should play a larger role in protecting their privacy on the Internet, according to a new poll from Consumers Union. Over 80 percent want the ability to opt out of Internet tracking from a single location.
“Very few people would agree that every piece of information they transmit should be available to everyone, for any conceivable purpose,” said Ioana Rusu, regulatory counsel for Consumers Union. The poll comes as the Senate Commerce Committee gears up for a hearing on online privacy and data security. The hearing, to be held Wednesday, will focus on three bills, the Commercial Privacy Bill of Rights of 2011, the Do-Not-Track Online Act, and the Data Security and Breach Notification Act of 2011.
"The idea of online privacy encompasses much more than the ‘creepy’ feeling consumers get when ads for an item they’ve looked at follows them around the web," said Rusu. Consumers Union is the non-profit publisher of Consumer Reports. Blog ? Privacy?s Zeitgeist Moment in the US? By Fran Maier PresidentTRUSTe Destination360 White House In the last year industry has been on notice that privacy legislation is coming. The recent elections have not significantly diminished the “threat” of legislation since privacy has become a bipartisan issue thanks to vocal media, advocates and consumers who have made the case for greater regulatory action.
It’s no surprise then that today the Wall Street Journal announced that the Obama Administration will seek to establish a new federal position to oversee privacy matters. Of course, Congress would have to pass a law to grant this position any real authority so it remains to be seen whether such a position could in the future have the same authority as the privacy commissioners we see in countries around the world like Canada, the U.K. and Australia. Recently I attended the International Conference of Data Protection & Privacy Commissioners in Israel and “co-regulation” was one of the buzz words that came up a great deal. Report: Military and government data breached 104 times in 2010. Obama Administration Internet Wiretap Plans Dredge Up Old Debate - Security from eWeek. Reports that federal law enforcement and national security officials want to create new regulations to help them intercept electronic communications raised a sense of d?? «j?? à vu for Cindy Cohn.
Cohn, legal director at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, remembers when these same issues arose in the 1990s, a time when the Clinton administration was pushing the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA) and the now-defunct "Clipper chip. " The government's story at the time was the same-centering on concerns about criminals and others using the technology for nefarious ends. But just as it was a bad idea then, she said, it is a bad idea now. "This isn't a question where there's this thing that can make us safer, should we do it or should we not do it," she said. "This thing that they want won't make us safer. Federal Government to Seek Web Message Surveillance Power - Security from eWeek. Obama to hand Commerce Dept. authority over cybersecurity ID. Court OKs Warrantless Cell-Site Tracking | Threat Level. A federal appeals court said Tuesday the government may obtain cell-site information that mobile phone carriers retain on their customers without a probable-cause warrant under the Fourth Amendment.
The opinion does leaves the privacy issue in a legal limbo of sorts. The standard by which the government can access such records — which can be used in criminal prosecutions — is left to the whims of district court judges. Historical cell-site location information, which carriers usually retain for about 18 months, identifies the cell tower to which the customer was connected at the beginning of a call and at the end of the call. Lower courts across the country have issued conflicting rulings on the topic and will continue to do so without appellate guidance or congressional action. The Philadelphia-based court was the first appeals court to address the issue. He said the decision highlights that the law needs to be clarified once and for all. Photo: Keithius/Flickr See Also: Do the Feds Need the Power to Wiretap the Internet? | The Atlantic Wire.
U.S. Subpoenas Twitter Over WikiLeaks Supporters.