Yesterday, Sen. Robert Torricelli, D-N.J., offered a plan that would make it unlawful for companies to collect personal information online without first getting permission from the consumer. On Wednesday, House and Senate lawmakers formed task forces to grapple with Net privacy, noting that the laws have not kept pace with sweeping technological changes. Information compiled from the tags is generally used for sending advertisements based on an individual's preferences. But advocates have long feared that the data could end up in the wrong hands. Signaling that a political consensus may still be on the horizon, the bill already has run into flak from critics who say targeting cookies may be the wrong way to go about protecting privacy.
Cookies do a lot of things.
If a consumer had to give permission every time a site wanted to assign a cookie, it would be maddening. Going after cookies is not the answer. Still, Torricelli's efforts come at a time when consumer awareness about privacy issues is gaining momentum. Internationally, the United States and the European Union may be making headway in protracted talks over treatment of personal information collected from consumers via the Net. Undersecretary of Commerce David Aaron said earlier this month that the two sides were drawing together to avoid a dispute that could force European companies to stop exchanging data with U.S. companies.