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DECEMBER 3, 2010

Policing Privacy on Web Debated

By JULIA ANGWIN

WASHINGTON--A top Federal Trade Commission official told lawmakers the agency has the capability to put in place a do-not-track policy to strengthen online privacy but needs more authority from Congress to put teeth in its enforcement.

"We believe we have the ability and the enforcement infrastructure" to implement do not track, David Vladeck, director of the FTC's bureau of consumer protection, told a House subcommittee on consumer protection.

But some lawmakers raised questions about the cost and viability of a system that would allow users to block others from monitoring them online. "We need to be mindful not to enact legislation that would hurt a recovering economy," said Rep. Ed Whitfield (R., Ky.).

Other witnesses, including an Obama administration official, questioned whether a do-not-track mechanism could be fool-proof enough to prevent all kinds of tracking. Joseph Pasqua, vice president of research at internet-security company Symantec Corp., said that within a few years even dishwashers and laundry machines will be connected to the Internet and trackable, possibly rendering current do-not-track tools obsolete.

Daniel Weitzner, associate administrator of the Commerce Department's National Telecommunications and Information Administration, said his agency supports limits on tracking but has concerns about a do-not-track mechanism.

"There's a growing agreement in the technical community that it's not so hard to send out a do-not-track signal," he said. "But the question is who is going to listen to that signal? That's a hard question to answer. If we try to draw lines too firmly, we do risk providing a false sense of security."

Mr. Weitzner said the Commerce Department will soon issue a report about online privacy that will call for the development of baseline privacy protections. Unlike many other countries, the U.S. doesn't have a comprehensive federal privacy law that details how consumer data can and cannot be used.

"It is time to shore up consumer privacy in the U.S. and abroad," Mr. Weitzner said.

The idea of allowing consumers to turn off internet tracking is opposed by the $23 billion online advertising industry.

The FTC's Mr. Vladeck said the agency needs new power from Congress to write rules and levy civil penalties against violators. But he stopped short of calling for legislation directly.

Rep. Bobby Rush (D., Ill.), who convened Thursday's House Energy and Commerce subcommittee hearing, introduced legislation in July that would limit some of the most intrusive forms of online tracking. But it doesn't include the FTC's new proposal to create a do-not-track mechanism that would allow consumers to turn off surveillance easily.

The Federal Trade Commission unveiled its do-not-track proposal in a staff report this week. The report said the industry has failed to effectively police burgeoning online tracking and called on companies to improve their privacy practices.

Mr. Vladeck said that a do-not-track system could easily be embedded in Web browsing software and wouldn't require direct government involvement. Rather, he said, the FTC could police whether tracking companies were complying with users' requests not to have their web surfing monitored and recorded.

"Tracking leaves digital footprints, and the technical means exist to identify parties that don't respect consumer choice," he said. He added that the do-not-track system could put an end to the technological "arms race" between tracking companies and people who seek not to be monitored.

Write to Julia Angwin at julia.angwin@wsj.com