The matter will be taken up first in the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, where Rep. Billy Tauzin, R-La., has just taken over the chairmanship. Ken Johnson, adviser and aide to Tauzin, said the congressman will focus the privacy debate on the opt-out model. Others on the committee are likely to press for more stringent safeguards and for recourse when safeguards fail. The ranking Democrat on the telecommunications subcommittee, Rep. Edward Markey, of Massachusetts, plans to examine the nature of disclosure notices, according to Colin Crowell, a legislative aide. In the Senate, the ranking Democrat on the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, Sen. Ernest Hollings, of South Carolina, plans to reintroduce a bill mandating the opt-in plan.
Good privacy is good business because it boosts consumer confidence.
Taxes back on the agenda Internet taxation proposals, too, will return, but this time with enough critical mass to spur action. A three-year moratorium on state Internet taxes, passed in 1998, will expire in October. At a minimum, Congress will vote to extend the moratorium, but many members said they see this as a stopgap measure that evades the real issue of how to find an equitable means of taxing goods sold both online and offline. What will be different in the tax debate this session will be a redoubled effort by the retail community, in alliance with state and local governments, sources said. The IT industry speaks with several voices on the matter of Internet taxes.