Privacy 'Track' Bill Draws Key Support

Privacy advocates are cheering an online privacy bill unveiled on Friday that would require the Federal Trade Commission to craft regulations requiring that Web companies allow consumers to opt out of online tracking. But ad industry representatives say the measure could discourage innovation.

Unlike some other privacy proposals, the Do Not Track Me Online Act (H.R. 654), introduced by Rep Jackie Speier (D-CA), has drawn support from a host of privacy advocates, including the Consumer Federation of America, US Public Interest Research Group, World Privacy Forum, the Center for Digital Democracy and the ACLU. Jeff Chester, executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy, said advocates worked closely with Speier to develop the bill. "We really think it's a model," he says. "It's a reflection that the privacy community is coming together to refine what the characteristics are for a regulatory system." The ad industry, on the other hand, says the measure is problematic.