• CNET, Thursday, May 6, 2010 12:48 AM

Rep. Rick Boucher, (D-Va.) has been unsuccessfully pushing for Internet privacy legislation for a very long time. In 1999, he proposed a bill that would give regulators more power over commercial Web sites, and he cosponsored the Consumer Privacy Protection Act in 2005. His current effort, co-sponsored by Republican Cliff Stearns, about data collection, has DC in arms.

Liberal special interest groups announced they were "disappointed" that Boucher didn't slap more regulations on Internet businesses. Free-market think tanks panned it for going too far. And industry groups like the Interactive Advertising Bureau said it was far too broad as currently drafted. One sticking point: Any company or nonprofit organization that collects personal information from at least 5,000 people, would not be allowed to "use" or "disclose" the data without consent. Providing a "clear statement" about how the information is used would, however, qualify as consent in many cases.

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