Web Privacy Protection Promoted

Online privacy is getting bipartisan attention with the release of a draft bill that requires Web publishers and advertising networks to publicly disclose when they collect data on Internet users.

The measure, by U.S. Reps. Rick Boucher (D-Va.), left, and Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.), right, would not require users actively opt-in to have data about them collected for advertising and commerce purposes. Boucher, chairman of the Subcommittee on Communications, Technology and the Internet; and Stearns, ranking member of the subcommittee, say they are looking to strike a balance between protecting consumers while still promoting business, reports Mike Shields for Mediaweek.

The push by Boucher and Stearns comes amid growing concerns about online privacy involving all types of Web sites, especially social networking giant Facebook, which recently caused a stir when it made changes in what user data would be public.

“Facebook advertises its privacy features as giving users the ability to control the sharing of information they post on Facebook, but the firm does not warn those users that those controls can go awry,” analyst Avivah Litan told eWEEK. “There are no regulations protecting consumers from the malfunctioning of those controls, and there needs to be.''

Fifteen consumer privacy groups recently filed a new complaint with the Federal Trade Commission claiming Facebook has dropped the ball in protecting user privacy.

Facebook contends the changes don’t endanger user privacy, and a spokesperson previously told eWEEK the new features will "make surfing the Web a smoother and more engaging experience for people who use Facebook while honoring the trust we've been given."

Facebook aside, most members of the online community always have been a bit wary of providing too much information, whether it be for professional profile purposes at LinkedIn or just simply commenting on somebody’s blog.

With identity theft rampant, it’s no wonder. Plus, we’ve all heard stories about potential job applicants and working professionals posting inappropriate material, such as photos, which later came back to haunt them with employers.

Still, user attraction to the Web has grown with easy access to a variety of information – everything from hobbies, such as genealogy and antiques, to research involving health and science. Many Internet users shop online, or just want to catch headlines and sports scores without fuss.

One of the basic concepts behind the rapid growth of the Internet since the mid-1990s has been a hands-off approach to government regulation, except in cases of criminal activity, including consumer fraud and child pornography.
The Boucher-Stearns measure puts an electronic spin on the old adage of buyer beware.

Though some feared sweeping government regulation would allow Web businesses to use consumer data only when those consumers had expressly provided permission to do so, the proposed bill puts some of the burden on Web users to protect themselves, according to Mediaweek’s Shields.

The law requires a level of consumer diligence. For example, people concerned with their own Web privacy will have to be on the lookout for publisher's privacy policies, which must be “clearly-written (and) understandable.”

Boucher says, “Our legislation confers privacy rights on individuals, informing them of the personal information that is collected and shared about them and giving them greater control over the collection, use and sharing of that information.’’
And if individuals don’t want information collected about themselves, they need to take action – unless that information
is of highly sensitive nature, like medical records or Social Security numbers. “As a general rule, companies may collect information about individuals unless an individual affirmatively opts out of that collection,” according to the draft.

That rule applies to individual publishers, as well as third parties like networks and ad-serving companies. However, the bill draws the line at sharing data without permission with what it calls “unaffiliated parties." Reads the draft: "An individual has a reasonable expectation that a company will not share that person’s information with unrelated third parties.”

Those "unaffiliated parties" must receive consumers’ permission to acquire their data. It is unclear at this point whether that includes data exchange companies, such as BlueKai and eXelate. “There is a lot of nebulous and undefined territory there,” says Will Margiloff, co-CEO of Innovation Interactive, a 300-person digital marketing services company headquartered in New York City with offices across North America, Europe and Asia.

Overall, Reps. Boucher and Stearns appeared to take pains to make sure that they came across as pro-data, calling Web logs (files) and cookies "necessary" for the functioning of many commercial or ad-supported Web sites.

Boucher previously said he recognizes the importance of data collection for the online advertising market and the ecommerce economy.

"Our goal is to encourage greater levels of electronic commerce by providing to Internet users the assurance that their experience online will be more secure,” Boucher said. “Online advertising supports much of the commercial content, applications and services that are available on the Internet today without charge, and this legislation will not disrupt this well-established and successful business model.”

Yet Mike Zaneis, vice president of public policy at the Interactive Advertising Bureau, voiced concern the bill lumped together users’ personal identification information – such as names, addresses and phone numbers – with non-personal identifiers such as Internet Protocol or cookies.

He fears if the bill were passed as is, users may ultimately be required to opt in to receive any form of targeted advertising that employs cookies or IP addresses – which could significantly hurt Web publishers.

“That’s fundamentally different from the (Federal Trade Commission)’s approach,” he says. The IAB has been working closely with the FTC over the past year or so to develop a set of privacy guidelines for the industry. “I’m worried about unintended consequence that could come from using overly broad definitions.”

We Mean Business generally tends to favor less regulation and red tape for business and industry, so growth is not stifled. Consumer protection, however, is of equal concern.

If Boucher and Stearns carefully craft their measure, as they say, the needs of business and consumers can both be served.

As for me, I practice what I preach at writenowworks.com.