![](media/image1.png){width="1.6993055555555556in"
height="1.6118055555555555in"}

***OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL***

**M E M O R A N D U M**

**DATE:** April 10, 2001

**TO:** Chairman

**FROM:** Inspector General

**SUBJECT:** Report on Internet Privacy and Web Cookies

The Office of Inspector General (OIG) has completed a Special Review of
Internet Privacy and Web Cookies. A copy of our Special Review Report,
entitled "Special Review of Internet Privacy and Web Cookies" is
attached. This review was required by Section 646 of the "Treasury and
General Government Act, 2001" (the Act). Section 646 of the Act states
that "Not later than 60 days after the date of enactment of this Act,
the Inspector General of each department or agency shall submit to
Congress a report that discloses any activity of the applicable
department or agency relating to---

(1) the collection or review of singular data, or the creation of
    aggregate lists that include personally identifiable information,
    about individuals who access any Internet site of the department or
    agency; and

(2) entering into agreements with third parties, including other
    government agencies, to collect, review, or obtain aggregate lists
    or singular data containing personally identifiable information
    relating to any individual\'s access or viewing habits."

Following passage of this legislation, representatives of the Department
of Defense Office of Inspector General (DOD IG) met with congressional
staff to obtain an understanding of the intent of Section 646 and to
discuss expectations regarding the parameters of the review and
individual reports. Based on these discussions, the DOD IG prepared and
distributed a list of agreed upon questions relating to Internet Privacy
and Web Cookies. A listing of the agreed upon questions is included as
Appendix 1 to our Special Review Report.

The objectives of this Special Review were to evaluate Commission
practices related to Internet Privacy and Web Cookies and to provide a
report to Congress on these practices. Specific objectives of the review
were to examine: 1) the purpose and use of cookies on FCC web pages, 2)
the use of other Internet information collection devices, such as web
bugs, 3) what categories of information are collected on the FCC web
site, 4) what personal information is collected when people e-mail or
submit questions to the agency, including how this information is
protected, and 5) the distribution of personally identifiable
information to any party outside of government for any purpose. The
scope of our review was limited to obtaining answers to the five
questions that resulted from the discussions between the DOD IG and the
congressional staff and performing limited testing to verify the
accuracy of Commission responses.

In a response to the draft report, the Chief Information Officer (CIO)
stated that "the report provides a comprehensive response to the
questions asked during your review." The CIO suggested some minor edits,
all of which we have incorporated into our report. We have included a
copy of the response in its entirety as Appendix 2 to this report.

If you have any questions, please contact Thomas Bennett, Assistant
Inspector General for Audits, at (202) 418-0477.

H. Walker Feaster III

Attachment

cc: Chief of Staff

Managing Director

Director, Office of Media Relations

Chief Information Officer

AMD-PERM