The Obama administration announced voluntary guidelines for websites such as Google and Facebook to protect the privacy of customers’, which proved to be a positive outcome for two of the major Internet giants that have sought heavier federal mandates.
Dubbed the “Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights,” the administration mentioned several guidelines. It stated “users should have more control over data collected about them and how the information is used; consumers should be able to limit the collection of personal information, especially about children; and users should be able to correct false information about them.”
The White House did not discuss the immensely debated “do not track” policy that would have required corporations to offer its customers the option of preventing advertisers from tracking their activities across the World Wide Web.
“As the Internet evolves, consumer trust is essential for the continued growth of the digital economy,” Obama said in a statement. “For businesses to succeed online, consumers must feel secure.”
The decision by the U.S. government permits Internet giants leverage in their agreements with regulators in Europe, where companies can make a stronger argument for voluntary regulations.
The Federal Trade Commission will regulate the companies that agree to the new implemented policy. The administration stated that “it will seek legislation to codify the rules and that the Commerce Department will soon bring together companies, consumer groups and academics to come up with more specific codes of conduct.”
Current questionable practices by Web corporations have given consumers much concern about privacy among state attorneys general, customers, and lawmakers.
Google, for example, announced that it would start pulling data next week from all of its sites to create profiles of clients who have logged into their accounts. They also have been accused of circumventing mobile-device browsers’ privacy protections so that it could track the history of customers.
“Any ‘do not track’ mechanism needs to be robust and meaningful and cannot be more of the same self-regulatory system,” said Pam Dixon, executive director of consumer group the World Privacy Forum.
The biggest Web firms — including Google, Yahoo!, and Microsoft— are expected to accept the regulations and have agreed to utilize the “do not track” browser technology.
