As we recently learned in last month’s hearing on spyware, Congress must be increasingly vigilant in ensuring that Americans personally identifiable information is protected.  On one hand, legitimate online advertising provides many benefits to our economy – for example it helps newspapers, radio stations and television stations to provide free online news.  But, on the other hand, there should be assurances protecting individuals’ privacy and preventing against identity theft.

 

For the Internet economy to continue to grow, Americans need to have confidence that their personal identifiable information is safe when they go online.  Moreover, consumers should be fully informed about what information is being collected online, who is collecting the data, and what options consumers have to protect themselves. It falls on industry to take these issues seriously and to balance the benefits of free Internet content with consumer privacy.