In limited areas, it supports sectoral laws. For instance, there are laws that cover records generated by video rentals and ensure the privacy of some email. The only solid law that has passed on Internet privacy covered the collection of information on children under the age of 13. Perhaps the biggest difference between the European approach and that in the US is the lack of a government body that provides for oversight and enforcement. The US Federal Trade Commission has a very limited jurisdiction over 'false and deceptive practices'.
Activists describe the agency as weak and ineffective.
Each year, it conducts a survey of privacy policies of websites that it always finds inadequate but then calls again for industry self-regulation. The industry also promotes self-regulatory bodies TrustE and BBB Online which give out 'seals' to reassure net users that the sites support privacy. However, these bodies receive large amounts of money from the companies they are supposed to oversee, and have yet to sanction any company for any privacy violation. TrustE has refused to deal with several issues against Microsoft, Intel and RealAudio. To respond to the EU Data Protection Directive, the US Department of Commerce proposed creating a 'Safe Harbour' for US companies to continue to work with European partners without adequate legislation.