FTC: Hands Off Net Privacy
Author: Declan McCullaghDeclan McCullagh
WASHINGTON – In a blow to liberal groups, the Federal Trade Commission on Tuesday will urge Congress not to regulate Web sites' privacy practices.
The FTC report on Internet privacy, requested by Congress last year, states that few commercial sites have published data collection and use policies, but it's still too early to start regulating the Internet.
"Legislation to address online privacy is not appropriate at this time," the report says.
After weeks of fractious internal debate, the FTC commissioners voted 3-1 to approve the report, which is nonbinding but expected to be influential. It will be presented to the House Commerce telecommunications subcommittee at a hearing Tuesday morning.
Proponents of increased federal regulation were left hopping mad.
"We're very disappointed that the FTC has not recommended legislation," said Katharina Kopp, a policy analyst at the Center for Media Education. "They have waited long enough and have given industry plenty of time."
Regulatory enthusiasts have long said that tech companies have not moved quickly enough to set policies that limit what can be done with users' personal information. The FTC report cited some of these efforts, including Truste, sponsored by the CommerceNet Consortium and the Electronic Frontier Foundation; BBB OnLine, a project of the Council of Better Business Bureaus; and CPA WebTrust, sponsored by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.
Free-market proponents cheered the decision.
"The FTC made the right call, although it showed no sign of recognizing the importance of free flow of information in the economy," said Solveig Singleton, director of technology studies at the Cato Institute, who will testify Tuesday at the subcommittee hearing.
Both the pro-regulatory and pro-market forces have eagerly awaited the agency's recommendations in light of the impact from a June 1998 FTC report recommending new laws.