The Internet Privacy Debate – Obama Administration Wants Internet Privacy Czar
The Obama administration is preparing a stepped-up approach to policing Internet privacy that calls for new laws and the creation of a new position to oversee the effort, according to people familiar with the situation. The strategy is expected to be unveiled in a report being issued by the U.S. Commerce Department in coming weeks, these people said. The prospect of new laws raised hackles at the Interactive Advertising Bureau, which represents the online-ad industry. “We believe we are living up to consumer-privacy expectations and are very advanced in privacy protections and innovation,” said Mike Zaneis, senior vice president, who said he wasn’t familiar with the report’s contents.
The initiatives would mark a turning point in Internet policy. Recent administrations typically steered away from Internet regulations out of concern for stifling innovation. But the increasingly central role of personal information in the Internet economy helped spark government action, according to people familiar with the situation. The Wall Street Journal has been examining this online information-gathering industry in its “What They Know” investigative series.
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