• by Wendy Davis  @wendyndavis, February 8, 2011

A new privacy bill that includes authorization for do-not-track regulations could be introduced in Congress as early as this week by Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.).

The proposal would enable the Federal Trade Commission to issue regulations ensuring that consumers can opt out of online data collection by companies engaged in interstate commerce, according to a summary provided by Speier's office. The bill also allows the FTC to create exceptions for "commonly accepted commercial practices."

Speier's bill would give the FTC the ability to enforce a do-not-track system with monetary penalties, audits and other measures. In addition, the law grants state attorney generals enforcement power, while allowing states to enact their own, more stringent privacy laws.

The FTC recently proposed that Web companies voluntarily create a do-not-track mechanism that would enable consumers to opt out of all online tracking by behavioral targeting companies. Currently, consumers can opt out of ad tracking by around 60 ad networks through links available at the self-regulatory sites operated by the Network Advertising Initiative and Digital Advertising Alliance.

At least two other privacy bills are expected to be introduced this month in the House. Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Ill.) intends to put forward the same proposal he introduced last year, which requires Web sites to obtain users' permission before sharing their personal information with third parties. His measure calls for users to explicitly consent to the data transfer, unless the companies collecting the information participate in an opt-out program operated by industry groups.

In addition, Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.) is expected to formally introduce a bill floated last year by himself and former Democratic Rep. Rick Boucher of Virginia. That measure requires ad networks to obtain users' consent before tracking them across the Web. The draft bill provides that consent be given on an opt-out basis -- as long as ad networks provide prominent notice through an icon and allow people to view and edit their profiles.

Justin Brookman, director of the Project on Consumer Privacy for the digital-rights group Center for Democracy & Technology, says his organization supports the idea of a do-not-track system, but would like to see comprehensive privacy legislation. Brookman adds that Speier's proposed carve-out for commonly accepted commercial practices is "smart and reasonable," but notes there is some disagreement about how to define such practices.

The CDT recently issued a 12-page draft attempting to define the type of activity that should be covered by a do-not-track directive. It proposed that companies engaged in online behavioral advertising -- that is, collecting data about people across different Web sites in order to predict users' interests and send them targeted ads -- should honor users' requests to opt out. But the CDT also recommended that other types of data collection -- including logging IP addresses in order to detect fraud -- should not be subject to a do-not-track mandate.