General Counsel Kerry Amplifies President Obama’s Consumer Privacy Protection Message in Europe
by Cameron F. Kerry
As co-chair of the
National Science and Technology Council Subcommittee on Privacy and Internet
Policy, I am proud to have worked on the Obama administration’s comprehensive
blueprint to improve consumer privacy protections, the "Consumer Data Privacy in a Networked World: A Framework for Protecting Privacy and Promoting Innovation in the Global Digital Economy" (PDF). As the
president stated in the report, “we must reject the conclusion that privacy is
an outmoded value. It has been at the heart of our democracy from its
inception, and we need it now more than ever.”
This is the message I took to European lawmakers, officials, and businesses
about the administration’s privacy policy framework. Central to the framework
is the tenet that consumers who have confidence their privacy is respected are
more likely to express themselves online, engage in commercial activity, and
form social connections on the Internet. Consumer trust is essential for a
strong digital economy, which in turn provides a platform for greater
innovation and job creation.
In today’s Internet age, our world is no longer easily defined by national
borders. Information flows around the world as companies seek to meet the
demands of international customers and individuals share their lives and
experiences globally. Finding ways to protect personal information while
facilitating cross-border data flows is a central aim of the administration’s
privacy blueprint.
Over the course of my meetings in Europe, I talked about the president’s Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights and our commitment to promote the free flow of
information by fostering the interoperability of international privacy
frameworks. I discussed the importance of building on tools such as the EU-US Safe Harbor Framework
that have helped to protect consumer information while facilitating
international trade.
I look forward to continuing our work at the Department of Commerce to
implement the administration’s privacy blueprint. Last week, the National
Telecommunications and Information Administration released a request
for comments as it prepares to begin convening stakeholders to develop
codes of conduct based on the Consumer Bill of Rights, and on March 19 the EU's
Justice Directorate General will come to Washington, D.C. to discuss the Safe
Harbor Framework and other tools for the global flow of information.