The White House proposed on Thursday a "privacy bill of rights".(Agencies)
The White House proposed on Thursday a "privacy bill of rights" that would give consumers more control over their data but relies heavily for now on voluntary commitments by Internet companies like Google Inc and Facebook.
The plan comes amid growing consumer concern about their lack of control over the collection and trade in vast amounts of detailed information about their online activities and real-life identities.
As part of the announcement, an online advertising coalition associated with Google Inc, Yahoo Inc and Microsoft Corp said its members agreed to placing "Do Not Track" technology in Web browsers, something the Federal Trade Commission has been advocating since 2010.
But privacy advocates said that commitment was of limited scope and consumers should avoid thinking their Internet activity would be totally shielded.
Various federal agencies, including the FTC and Department of Commerce, have recommended similar privacy rights in the past, but broad legislation has failed to get traction. Privacy laws have been narrowly tailored toward protecting children, or categories of data such as credit reports and health records.
"The hope would be that this is a measure that you get all the large advertisers to agree to. Then it gets to be in their interest to get it enforced on the others through legislation," said Christopher Calabrese, lobbyist for the American Civil Liberties Union.
A leading Republican on the issue in the GOP-controlled House, Representative Mary Bono Mack, gave tepid support, saying she would work with the administration but that "any rush-to-judgment could have a chilling effect on our economy and potentially damage, if not cripple, online innovation."
The White House proposed seven basic protections that consumers should expect from companies.
Consumers should have control over the kind of data companies collect, companies must be transparent about data usage plans and respect the context in which it is provided and disclosed. Companies would have to ensure secure and responsible handling of the data and be accountable for strong privacy measures.
美国白宫本周四提出一项“隐私权议案”，增加了用户对自己网络信息的控制权，但其实施目前仍严重有赖于谷歌和Facebook等网络公司的自愿承诺。
越来越多的用户担心自已无法控制对于自己的上网活动以及真实身份等海量详细信息的收集和交易，因此白宫提出了此项提议。
公告中还提到，与谷歌、雅虎、微软等公司合作的某网络广告联盟曾表示，其成员同意在网络浏览器中使用“不要追踪信息”技术。自2010年开始，美国联邦贸易委员会就开始提倡这一技术。
但保护隐私权益人士称，这一承诺范围有限，用户应该提防网上活动信息失窃。
美国联邦贸易委员会和商务部等众多联邦机构都进行过类似的保护隐私权提议，但一直没能立法。隐私权法仅限于保护儿童，或者信用报告和健康报告等类型的数据。
美国民权同盟的说客克里斯托弗•卡拉贝斯说：“我们希望这一措施可以得到所有大型广告商的同意。继而他们就愿意通过法律的实施使其他人也遵照执行。”
在共和党占多数的众议院，一位知名的共和党议员玛丽•波诺•马克对该提议不是很支持，表示她会与机构合作推进，但“任何急躁的判断都可能对经济造成‘寒蝉效应’，就算不会削弱，也会潜在地破坏网络创新。”
白宫提出了网络公司要向用户提供的七大保护措施。
用户应可以控制网络公司收集数据的类型、公司必须完全公开数据使用计划，并尊重信息提供和披露的语境。公司应保证对数据进行安全和负责的处理，并且对严密的隐私保护措施负责。
tepid: 不热情的，不热烈的
chilling effect: 寒蝉效应，激冷效应