The Coming Privacy Bill of Rights

Sens. John McCain and John Kerry are circulating proposed legislation to create an "online privacy bill of rights," according to people familiar with the situation, a sign of bipartisan support for efforts to curb the Internet-tracking industry.

Mr. McCain, an Arizona Republican, and Mr. Kerry, a Massachusetts Democrat, are backing a bill that would require companies to seek a person's permission to share data about him with outsiders. It would also give people the right to see the data collected on them. The bill is expected to be introduced ahead of a Senate Commerce Committee hearing next Wednesday on online privacy.

The move comes amid widening scrutiny of the tracking industry. In the past year, The Wall Street Journal's "What They Know" series has revealed that popular websites install thousands of tracking technologies on people's computers without their knowledge, feeding an industry that gathers and sells information on their finances, political leanings and religious interests, among other things.

Well this is good news but I am wondering how far this bill will go. As a lot of us know corporations seem to have more rights than citizens these days so this bill may be stopped in it's tracks. The bill would be a nightmare for websites like Facebook that have been selling people's personal information for a while, if the bill passes I don't think many people will agree to have their personal info passed around just so a website can gain even more from users.

online.wsj.com...

No one pays any attention to the one we already have.

Why would another one be any different.

reply to post by Skewed


Well said my friend

A star for you.

reply to post by Skewed


couldn't say it any simpler +S

...does it really piss off any one else when they hear the word bi-partisan, like they are working together to achieve a goal, ISN'T THAT THE WHOLE IDEA, why oh why do they feel the need to shove it in our faces that they are only sometimes doing what they are supposed to do everytime

it's back in the news and i didn't want to start a new thread.

finance.yahoo.com...

this kind of makes me wonder what they're up to, with the recent acknowledgement of the feds desire to scan the various forums and social networks for info. i guess we are to only expect privacy from companies and not our own govt.