What New Congressional Leaders Could Mean for Online Privacy

The online advertising industry lost an ally on a key House subcommittee when Rep. Mary Bono Mack (R-CA) lost reelection in November and learned this week that pro-business Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) is resigning his post. But opponents of privacy legislation -- the Interactive Advertising Bureau and other ad trade organizations among them -- have gained a bit more prominence in the appointment of Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) as vice chair of the full House Commerce Committee.

Rep Blackburn has described the Federal Trade Commission's approach to privacy regulation as "an unintended Internet kill switch." Rep. Lee Terry (R-NE) will lead the House Commerce Committee's Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade Subcommittee, which oversees consumer protection, privacy and data security issues. His district encompasses Omaha, which is "home to more than three dozen telemarketing centers." He has been a proponent of legislation supporting telemarketing rights and last year sponsored a bill allowing companies to make robo-calls to mobile phones. He pulled that bill following a public outcry. Both Reps Blackburn and Terry co-sponsored the much-maligned Stop Online Piracy Act, and both later withdrew support.