Tech giants call for law to protect consumers
Fresh from a fight with US officials over the sanctity of online search information, Google has joined an alliance of technology firms calling for federal legislation protecting consumer privacy.
By Agencies |
SAN FRANCISCO: Fresh from a fight with US officials over the sanctity of online search information, Google has joined an alliance of technology firms calling for federal legislation protecting consumer privacy.
"Today we live in a digital economy where both beneficial and potentially harmful uses of personal information are multiplying," said a statement yesterday from the Consumer Privacy Legislative Forum, whose roster includes such technology powerhouses as Microsoft, Intel, Oracle, Sun Microsystems and Hewlett Packard.
"The time has come for a serious process to consider comprehensive harmonized federal privacy legislation to create a simplified, uniform but flexible legal framework" for protecting consumers, it said.
"The legislation should provide protection for consumers from inappropriate collection and misuse of their personal information and also enable legitimate businesses to use information to promote economic and social value."
Google counsel Nicole Wong said yesterday in a blog posting on the Google website that the company joined a group of "notable US companies" calling for federal consumer privacy legislation.
There was a "patchwork quilt" of US state consumer protection laws that varied depending on location and subject, with examples being health, financial, or child-related data, according to Wong.
"This matrix of laws is complex, incomplete, and sometimes contradictory," Wong wrote. "For consumers, the result is a set of privacy protections that are uneven at best."
"Today we live in a digital economy where both beneficial and potentially harmful uses of personal information are multiplying," said a statement yesterday from the Consumer Privacy Legislative Forum, whose roster includes such technology powerhouses as Microsoft, Intel, Oracle, Sun Microsystems and Hewlett Packard.
"The time has come for a serious process to consider comprehensive harmonized federal privacy legislation to create a simplified, uniform but flexible legal framework" for protecting consumers, it said.
"The legislation should provide protection for consumers from inappropriate collection and misuse of their personal information and also enable legitimate businesses to use information to promote economic and social value."
Google counsel Nicole Wong said yesterday in a blog posting on the Google website that the company joined a group of "notable US companies" calling for federal consumer privacy legislation.
There was a "patchwork quilt" of US state consumer protection laws that varied depending on location and subject, with examples being health, financial, or child-related data, according to Wong.
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"This matrix of laws is complex, incomplete, and sometimes contradictory," Wong wrote. "For consumers, the result is a set of privacy protections that are uneven at best."
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