The administration has called for legislation similar to the consumer privacy bill of rights (S 799) introduced last year by Sens. John Kerry, D-Mass., and John McCain, R-Ariz. FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz told lawmakers at the hearing that current laws limit his agency's ability to address privacy breaches individually, and that new legislation would help "fill in the gaps" on enforcement. Kerry's brother Cameron, general counsel for the Commerce Department, also testified in favor of stronger consumer privacy protections.
But Republicans appear unlikely to warm up to the prospect of new online privacy regulations; the party has generally struck an anti-regulatory stance since winning the House, and would be loath to hand President Obama a major political victory in the run-up to this fall's elections. Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., indicated as much at the hearing, expressing skepticism at the need for new privacy laws. Thus far, the GOP appears content with having the Federal Trade Commission continue to regulate Web and social media companies under the Federal Trade Commission Act; just this week the FTC settled a privacy complaint against MySpace.
The resulting uncertainty has been a headache for Web firms such as Facebook, which listed the prospect of new privacy regulations as a significant risk in preparing for next week's initial public offering. Rep. Mary Bono Mack of California has been the GOP point person in the House on consumer privacy issues, but has yet to express support for new legislation. Attaching the privacy measures to the Senate cybersecurity bill might give the White House and Democrats some political cover, but that bill itself is unlikely to pass the House, since it includes new cybersecurity regulations for critical infrastructure providers.
That's why the Obama administration is pushing forward with plans to develop voluntary online privacy standards with the support of the tech industry and online advertisers. That voluntary approach, which would be enforceable by the FTC, appears the most likely path to implementing new online privacy measures this year.
Democrats Unveil Password Protection Bill: Ambreen Ali has more details today about the Democratic bill that would prevent employers from demanding access to the Facebook and other password-protected accounts of employees and job applicants. The legislation now has additional sponsors, including Sens. Ron Wyden of Oregon, Chuck Schumer of New York, and Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire. Republicans have yet to weigh-in on the measure, which appears fairly non-controversial on its surface. We expect law enforcement and military organizations to request an exemption, by arguing the nature of those positions requires a more rigorous investigation of an applicant's background and communications. Twitter Stands Up for User: Twitter filed a motion (PDF) this week in New York looking to quash a court order requiring the microblogging service to turn over information about one of its users. The user, Malcolm Harris, is being prosecuted for alleged disorderly conduct in connection with the Occupy Wall Street protest on the Brooklyn Bridge last year. The ACLU notes Web users must often rely on Internet companies to protect their privacy, since users often lack the legal standing to challenge subpoenas from prosecutors. Many Web firms have complied with such requests in the past, even without a court order, since the law in this area is still unclear as to whether a warrant is required to hand over a user's online data or not. House Panel Backs Defense Spending Bill: CQ's Eugene Mulero, Matt Fuller, and Elham Khatami report the House Armed Services Committee approved a fiscal 2013 defense policy bill on Thursday after 16 hours of debate by a vote of 56-5. The Republican-led panel proposed roughly $8 billion in spending above the cap set by last year's deficit reduction law, backing several proposals the Obama administration has opposed, such as building a new missile defense site on the East Coast before 2016. The bill would also authorize a 1.7 percent pay raise for military personnel, $10 million for a cybersecurity initiative, and $172 million for the Weapons of Mass Destruction Defeat Technology program. C-J-S Spending Bill Faces House Vote Today: CQ's Anne Kim brings us word that the House is set to pass a $51.1 billion Commerce-Justice-Science spending bill on Thursday. The chamber has been considering the bill since Tuesday under open rule, and has already powered through 65 amendments. The number of most interest to our readers is probably the final budget figure for NASA, which is facing cuts so lawmakers can expand a community policing program.