Rep Stearns' Privacy Bill Balances Consumer, Corporate Needs

The congressional push to enact major online privacy legislation intensified April 13 when Rep Cliff Stearns (R-FL) followed through on his pledge to introduce a comprehensive measure that he began crafting in the last congressional session.

The "Consumer Privacy Protection Act" seeks to strike a balance between consumer and corporate interests by requiring websites to better inform visitors about how their personal information is used while relying on self-regulation by companies for compliance. The Consumer Privacy Protection Act, requires covered entities to provide consumers in clear and easy to understand language what information is being collected and how the information is being used. It also provides incentives for covered entities to enter into strong self-regulatory standards.

The Consumer Privacy Protection Act of 2011 specifically would:

• Require covered entities to notify consumers that their personally identifiable information as defined in the bill may be used for a purpose unrelated to the transaction.
• Require entities to notify consumers of any material change in their privacy policy.
• Require covered entities to establish a privacy policy with respect to the collection, sale, disclosure for consideration, or use of the consumer's information and such policy be made easily available for consumers.
• Require an entity to provide consumers the opportunity to preclude the sale or disclosure of their information to any organization that is not an information-sharing partner.
• Provide for a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) approved five-year self-regulatory program and prescribes requirements for a self-regulatory consumer dispute resolution process.
• Require the FTC to presume that an entity is in compliance with this Act if it participates in an approved self-regulatory program.