Congressman introduced 'Do Not Track Kids Act' legislation to protect online privacy of children and teens

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), co-Chairman of the Bi-partisan Congressional Privacy Caucus and a senior member of the Energy and Commerce Committee, today released the responses to the questions he sent Amazon’s CEO Jeff Bezos regarding the privacy and security protections in the new Kindle Fire tablet. A New York Times story reported that Amazon could collect and utilize information about its users Kindle Fire Internet surfing and buying habits through the combination of its new tablet and Silk browser, including which items users buy and how much they pay on sites across the Internet. Rep. Markey wrote to Amazon with concerns that the pairing of the Kindle Fire tablet with the Silk browser could enable Amazon to track each Web click of Kindle Fire users.  
 
“Amazon’s responses to my inquiries do not provide enough detail about how the company intends to use customer information, beyond acknowledging that the company uses this valuable information,” said Rep. Markey. “Amazon states ‘Customer information is an important part of our business’, but it is also important for customers to know how the company uses their personal information. Amazon is collecting a massive amount of information about Kindle Fire users, and it has a responsibility to be transparent with its customers. I plan to follow-up with the company for additional answers on this issue.”     
 
Amazon’s response to Rep. Markey can be found HERE . Rep. Markey’s letter to Amazon can be found HERE .
 
Rep. Markey has been the Congressional leader on providing privacy protections for personal consumer information. The lawmaker has investigated the data privacy and security practices of Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon, and the four major wireless carriers and the Social Security Administration.
 
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