Senate bill would set consumer privacy rights

WASHINGTON – A new Senate bill introduced Tuesday would establish a "privacy bill of rights" to set ground rules for companies that collect consumer data, including personal data amassed on the Internet and then mined to target online advertising.

The bill, sponsored by Democrat John Kerry of Massachusetts and Republican John McCain of Arizona, would create a "baseline code of conduct" to govern the use of information that could identify a particular individual or a particular computer or smartphone. It would establish a framework for how this data could be collected, used, stored and shared with third parties such as online advertising networks.

The proposal aims to address growing unease about the vast amounts of personal information that companies are scooping up on the Internet, including Web browsing habits and Facebook preferences.

source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110412/ap_on_hi_te/us_tec_internet_privacy_senate_bill;_ylt=Amkyjj4Gql1AqHjH4xFZQmH6VbIF;_ylu=X3oDMTM5bjFpZWxoBGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMTEwNDEyL3VzX3RlY19pbnRlcm5ldF9wcml2YWN5X3NlbmF0ZV9iaWxsBHBvcwMxBHNlYwN5bl9wYWdpbmF0ZV9zdW1tYXJ5X2xpc3QEc2xrA3NlbmF0ZWJpbGx3bw--