The chairman of the powerful US senate commerce committee plans to introduce a bill [1] next week that will require companies to give online shoppers the opportunity to opt out of online tracking - and enforcement powers to the Federal Trade Commission.
Continue reading...Friday, May 6, 2011
"Demand for do-not-track protection is swelling and that makes sense," said John Simpson, spokesman for the group Consumer Watchdog. "This is an idea whose time has come, and I believe people will finally get the protection they are demanding. Senator Rockefeller should be commended for pushing the issue."
Continue reading...Thursday, May 5, 2011
Still, it's the first time such a bill has made it out of committee, and that's a big deal, according to John Simpson, director of Consumer Watchdog's Privacy Project. "This is the first time that a 'do not track' bill has actually had a hearing and been debated and then voted forward in the legislative process," he said.
Continue reading...Thursday, May 5, 2011
"A Do Not Track mechanism would give consumers better control of their information and help restore their confidence in the internet," Jamie Court, Consumer Watchdog's president, said in a written statement after the committee action. "That's a win-win for consumers and business."
Continue reading...Thursday, May 5, 2011
Why should iPhone and Android users have to worry about being spied on by their smart phones? Shouldn't we be able to say no to some of California's biggest companies, Google and Facebook, when they violate our privacy daily by tracking us online and collecting massive amounts of our private information without our explicit consent?
Continue reading...Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Consumer Watchdog said in its statement that the problem with do-not-track at the browser level is that there's no requirement on the web site to honor the do-not-track request.
Continue reading...Wednesday, May 4, 2011
The measure (SB 761), introduced last month by California Sen. Alan Lowenthal, requires the state attorney general to issue regulations that would require Web companies to notify state residents about online data collection and allow them to opt out. The bill, sponsored by Consumer Watchdog, applies not only to so-called personally identifiable information like users' names, but also to unique identifiers, such as customer numbers of IP addresses.
Continue reading...Wednesday, May 4, 2011
SACRAMENTO, CA – For the first time in American history a privacy proposal to give people the right to stop collection of their personal information online has passed a legislative committee.
Continue reading...Tuesday, May 3, 2011
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Legislation proposed in California that would mandate a means for Web users to easily prevent websites from gathering their personal information is moving forward, despite intensive lobbying and opposition from some of the state’s largest Internet firms — including Facebook Inc. and Google Inc.
Continue reading...Tuesday, May 3, 2011
President of Consumer Watchdog, Jamie Court, said there’s also concern that the information could fall into the wrong hands or be misused. “You search out of curiosity for ‘marijuana’ you don’t want to be followed by cannabis ads,” said Court. “You should have the right to not be tracked doing that search.”
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Friday, May 6, 2011
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