US Lawmakers Call for Online, Mobile Privacy Legislation

Congress doesn't need to take major steps to protect the privacy of Web and mobile users, because self-policing efforts are generally working, the CEO of TRUSTe told lawmakers.

Efforts by online companies to regulate privacy practices themselves has worked "effectively," Chris Babel, TRUSTe's CEO, told members of the Internet subcommittee of the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee. "You've seen self regulation accelerate quite rapidly in the last few years," Babel said. Several lawmakers and other witnesses disagreed, saying Congress should enact online and mobile privacy legislation that creates baseline rules for websites and mobile app developers. Representatives of eBay and the Association for Competitive Technology (ACT), a trade group representing mobile app developers, both called for a new online privacy law.

Several lawmakers, both Republicans and Democrats, questioned self-regulatory efforts.