Fergie's Tech Blog

U.S. Congressional Confusion on Internet Privacy

Declan McCullagh writes on C|Net News:

When it comes to Internet privacy, Rep. Joe Barton embodies contradictions.

The Texas Republican, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, claims to be a steadfast supporter of online privacy. He's piped up at innumerable hearings about Social Security number misuse and data breaches and has pledged, as recently as May, to enact a sweeping law protecting Americans' privacy rights.

He seems serious enough. "Whether Social Security numbers should be sold by Internet data brokers to anyone willing to pay, indistinguishable from sports scores or stock quotes...to me, that's a no-brainer," Barton said. Such a practice should not be allowed, he said. "Period. End of debate."

Which is why it's so odd that Barton is just as serious about forcing Internet providers to snoop on what Americans are doing online--which would create a much bigger privacy threat, after all, than a few bottom-feeding information brokers.

posted by Fergie @ 7/05/2006 06:54:00 AM