Guest blog post by Cameron Kerry, General Counsel for the U.S. Department of Commerce.
The time has come for Congress to pass strong Internet consumer privacy
legislation that provides clear rules of the road for businesses and consumers
while preserving the innovation and free flow of information that are hallmarks
of the Internet economy.
That’s the Obama Administration’s
conclusion based on the work we have been doing on commercial data
privacy. Three months ago, the Commerce Department published its Green
Paper, which contained preliminary policy recommendations to enhance
consumer protection and strengthen online trust, while ensuring the Web remains a platform for innovation, jobs, and
economic growth
In response, the Commerce
Department received thoughtful and well-researched comments from over a hundred
stakeholders representing industry, consumer groups, and academic
sectors. We carefully reviewed all them. Through the Privacy and
Internet Policy Subcommittee of the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC),
which I co-chair with Assistant Attorney General Christopher Schroeder, we
consulted with Federal agencies and key White House offices to develop a
roadmap for moving forward on this important Administration priority.
Based our review, we have concluded
that baseline consumer privacy legislation will strengthen the U.S. Internet
privacy framework for consumers and businesses alike. The Obama
Administration is committed to working with Congress to pass a bill that
provides a stronger statutory framework to protect consumers’ privacy interests
in data that are collected and used or disclosed in commercial contexts in the
Internet economy, while supporting innovation. Consumer privacy
legislation should have the following elements: