Chairman Rockefeller Announces Do-Not-Track Legislation to Protect Consumers When They Are Online

Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) will introduce legislation to provide consumers with the capability to better protect their personal information from being collected and used by online companies.

The Do-Not-Track Online Act of 2011 would:

• Create a universal legal obligation for all online companies to honor consumer choice when consumers do not want anyone to collect information about their online activities;
• Allow the Federal Trade Commission to pursue enforcement action against any company that does not honor this request by consumers;
• If consumers ask not to be tracked, allow companies to collect only the information that is necessary for the website or online service to function and be effective, but then place a legal obligation on the online company to destroy or anonymize the information once it is no longer needed.