{
  "id": "RL30322",
  "type": "CRS Report",
  "typeId": "REPORTS",
  "number": "RL30322",
  "active": false,
  "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
  "versions": [
    {
      "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
      "id": 105449,
      "date": "2001-01-11",
      "retrieved": "2016-05-24T20:30:39.624941",
      "title": "Online Privacy Protection: Issues and Developments",
      "summary": "It is routinely acknowledged that the success of the Internet and electronic commerce depends \nupon\nthe resolution of issues related to the privacy of online personal information. This paper discusses\nsome potential threats to the privacy of online personal information, and efforts by businesses,\ngovernments, and citizens to respond to them. The paper also provides an overview of the legal\nframework for the protection of personal information.\n  Some advocate legal recognition of a right to \"information privacy\" for online transactions.\nThe term \"information privacy\" refers to an individual's claim to control the terms under which\npersonal information is acquired, disclosed, and used. In the United States there is no\ncomprehensive legal protection for personal information. The Constitution protects the privacy of\npersonal information in a limited number of ways, and extends only to the protection of the\nindividual against government intrusions. However, many of the threats to the privacy of personal\ninformation occur in the private sector. Any limitations placed on the data processing activities of\nthe private sector will be found not in the Constitution but in federal or state law. There is no\ncomprehensive federal privacy statute that protects personal information held by both the public\nsector and the private sector. A federal statute exists to protect the privacy of personal information\ncollected by the federal government. The private sector's collection and disclosure of personal\ninformation has been addressed by Congress on a sector-by-sector basis. With the exception of the\nChildren's Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998, none of these laws specifically covers the\ncollection of online personal information.\n  The federal government currently has limited authority over the collection and dissemination\nof personal data collected online. President Clinton's Information Infrastructure Task Force supports\nindustry standards for privacy protection. The Federal Trade Commission Act prohibits unfair and\ndeceptive practices in commerce, and the Commission has brought enforcement actions to address\ndeceptive online information practices. In June 1998, the Federal Trade Commission presented a\nreport to Congress titled   Privacy Online  which examined the information practices of\nover 1400\ncommercial Web sites, and found that the vast majority of online businesses have yet to adopt even\nthe most fundamental fair information practice. The Commission issued a new report to Congress \nin July 1999  on Self-Regulation and Online Privacy  and found that the vast majority of\nthe sites\nsurveyed collect personal information from consumers online, and that the implementation of fair\ninformation practices is not widespread. The FTC issued a new report in May 2000 after another\nsurvey of web sites. Notwithstanding measurable gains since the 1999 report to Congress, a\nmajority of the Commission found that self-regulation alone, without some legislation, is unlikely\nto provide online consumers with the level of protection they seek and deserve, and recommended\nthat Congress consider legislation to complement self-regulation.\n  This report does not track legislation pending before Congress.",
      "type": "CRS Report",
      "typeId": "REPORTS",
      "active": false,
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          "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/RL30322",
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      "topics": []
    }
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Crime Policy",
    "Foreign Affairs",
    "Intelligence and National Security"
  ]
}