Seizing the initiative on privacy; on-line industry presses its case for self-regulation

Article Abstract:

The online industry has tried to take the initiative in its fight to stave off government regulations intended to protect the privacy of consumers. In June 1998, the Federal Trade Commission told Congress that the privacy practices of Web sites fell way short of what is needed to protect consumers. Only a minute percentage of Web sites informed consumers about what the sites did with personal information they collected. An even smaller number gave consumers a choice of how this data would be used. The Online Privacy Alliance, a group formed on April 17, 1998, by executives, lawyers and lobbyists representing a number of companies and trade groups, has hired Christine Varney, the former Internet expert at the F.T.C., to advise it on turning this debate in the direction of continued industry self-regulation.

Evaluation, Practice, Social policy, Electronic commerce, E-commerce, Protection and preservation, Privacy, Right of, Right of privacy, Industry regulations, Industry self-regulation, Industry self regulation, Government regulation of business, Trade regulation, Internet access, Varney, Christine

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Internet companies set policies to help protect consumer privacy

Article Abstract:

The Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Commerce have teamed up with several online services to create a method of protecting the privacy of consumers who may not know their online actions are being monitored. Privacy issues are being raised because of the extensive use of 'profiling' software which documents the actions of consumers while at a Web site, but is virtually unknown to the consumer. The attempt to regulate the use of profiling is an attempt to make consumers more comfortable shopping online.

Internet, Government regulation, Web sites (World Wide Web), Web sites, Consumers, United States. Department of Commerce

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