Consumer Groups Petition Congress for Online Privacy Regulations

A group of 10 consumer groups asked the House Commerce Committee, which is drafting an online privacy bill, to consider stringent regulations aimed at curbing behavioral advertising and the use of sensitive consumer information. The groups -- the Center for Digital Democracy, Consumers Union, Electronic Frontier Foundation, U.S. Public Interest Research Group and The World Privacy Forum -- also called for web sites to be more transparent about the types of data they collect and to give consumers a way to manage it. The principles include an opt-in clause whereby a web site must get the consumer's permission to share his data if the site wants to use it beyond a 24-hour period. They also require that consumer information is purged after 90 days, and include a Do Not Track List, by which consumers could opt out of data collection entirely.