WASHINGTON, D.C. – Representatives Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Joe Barton (R-Texas), Co-Chairman of the House Bi-Partisan Privacy Caucus, today released responses to the letters they had sent to companies identified in a Wall Street Journal investigation as reportedly installing intrusive consumer-tracking technologies to track and/or target consumers visiting these company Web sites.

 

 

“The responses raise a number of concerns, including whether consumers are able to effectively shield their personal Internet habits and private information from the prying eyes of online data gatherers,” Rep. Markey said.  “Consumers may be unaware that the sites they visit, coordinating with a cadre of analytics firms, advertising networks and offline data companies, may be tracking their activities around the Internet.  While the responses that Rep. Barton and I received cite privacy policies and opt-out choices to enable consumers to preserve their privacy, these policies can be complicated and laborious to navigate.  For example, a single website may have business relationships with a dozen or more third-party data firms that display advertisements on its site. A consumer may have to visit each of these sites, consulting its privacy policy and clicking through to opt-out, if such an option is provided.  In some cases, a list of all third party affiliates is not readily accessible, keeping consumers in the dark.” 

 

 

“As the House author of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, I remain intently interested in ensuring that children are not targeted online and their privacy is strictly protected.  I also have been a longstanding supporter of strong health privacy protections.  As more consumers seek health information online, individuals should not be targeted with advertisements based on information about medical conditions they may seek online unless they first choose to receive them. When Congress considers comprehensive privacy legislation, the responses to our questions will help inform my approach during the legislative process,” Rep. Markey concluded. 

 

 

“There is now a small army of companies collecting, analyzing, trading, and using information about consumers’ habits, purchases, and private data. While some of these practices may be entirely legitimate—some, in fact, ultimately beneficial to the consumer—I do worry that not only are many Americans unaware of these practices, but those who seek out information in privacy policies often come up against complicated legalese,” said Barton, top Republican on the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Transparency is the first step in educating consumers about the collection and use of their information, and clear, plain-language disclosures must ultimately lead to consumer control and consumer choice as well.” 

 

 

Copies of the responses are available here:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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