Rockefeller's bill would still let Web companies track some consumer behavior online. Rockefeller unveils 'Do Not Track' bill

A new bill from Sen. Jay Rockefeller released Monday would put into law a requirement that consumers could prevent Web companies from collecting information about the websites they visit.

Rockefeller's (D-W.Va.) widely expected proposal would grant the FTC broad new power to draft the rules for a "Do Not Track" mechanism. Some top Web browsers by Microsoft, Mozilla and to some extent, Google, already offer these types of privacy controls.


The bill would leave it up to the FTC to determine the scope of Do Not Track rules, evaluate existing opt-out technologies and review the effectiveness of the law itself every two years.

It also would fall to regulators at the FTC to enforce Do Not Track mandates — to ensure, for example, requests not to collect information are honored. The bill would empower the FTC to fine those Web companies in violation of the law.

“Recent reports of privacy invasions have made it imperative that we do more to put consumers in the driver’s seat when it comes to their personal information,” Rockefeller said in a statement.

“I believe consumers have a right to decide whether their information can be collected and used online," he continued. "This bill offers a simple, straightforward way for people to stop companies from tracking their movements online.”

Still, Rockefeller's bill would allow Web companies to track some consumer behavior online, even if they took advantage of Do Not Track technology.

A summary of the bill, also released Monday, indicates one such instance of that use: when a company finds it "necessary to provide a service requested by the individual and the information is anonymized or deleted as soon as that service is provided."

This article first appeared on POLITICO Pro at 4:19 p.m. on May 9, 2011.