Consumer\'s Privacy Bill of Rights

Consumer's Privacy Bill Of Rights

Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights

Over the last several years, the Internet has become the one place where consumers can learn about new ideas. While at the same time, they have the ability to purchase a wide variety of products and services. According to statistics provided by the White House, they determined that this accounts for $175 billion in direct economic support for the U.S. economy. Out of this number $85 billion is conducted in retail transactions, $70 billion in payments to Internet service providers and $20 billion in advertising. The combination of these factors is important in illustrating how this has transformed commerce and the way organizations are reaching out to a large demographic of consumers. ("Fact Sheet," 2012) (Jones, 2012)

However, there are concerns about potential abuses taking place. This is because advancements in technology are allowing firms to monitor the actions of an individual while they are online. These issues are raising concerns about how information is collected and utilized in the process. To address these challenges the Obama Administration is proposing the implementation of the Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights. This is updating existing regulations in consumer protection and privacy laws to reflect these new realities. To fully understand what is taking place requires examining the plan in contrast with current regulations. Together, these elements will highlight how this can serve as a foundation in preventing potential abuses and analyzing its validity in today's society. ("Fact Sheet," 2012) (Jones, 2012)

The Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights vs. Existing Regulations

The Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights is designed to enhance regulations that will protect the public against firms collecting, storing and selling their information to other parties. These regulations were designed to give consumers more information about how all data will be used by a variety of organizations. Over the years, they have been continually evolving to keep up with changes in technology and the way firm are interacting with their customers / potential cliental. The most notable include: the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the Electronics Communications Privacy Act, the Telephone Consumer Protections Act of 1991 and the Do Not Call Implementation Act of 2003. ("Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights," 2012) (Jones, 2012)

The Fair Credit Reporting Act was passed in 1970. It is designed to prevent the way personal information is used by credit bureaus. This is achieved by regulating the disclosure of how an individual's data is utilized. Under the law, this occurs when the credit bureau releases it to a third party by disclosing this to consumers through obtaining their written consent. This takes place when an organization is requesting information about their credit history / insurance / employment evaluations and for legitimate business transactions involving the person. (McNamara, 1973)

The Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights is enhancing these guidelines by updating the way personal information is collected and utilized during any kind of online activities. This is achieved through giving the individual the right to determine what data is collected / how it is used, increased transparency in the way it is utilized and more accountability in how companies are handling / storing it. These provisions are illustrating that the law is taking some of the basic provisions of the Fair Credit Reporting Act and it is updating them to reflect these changes. ("Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights," 2012) (Jones, 2012)

The Electronics Communications Privacy Act was designed to protect individual privacy with electronic communications. This was extended to all forms of electronic communications to include: faxes, videos, texts and audio transmissions. At the same time, it changed how different government agencies and private entities can intercept as well as utilize this information. These provisions are designed to enhance the overall amounts of privacy that everyone is afforded under the Fourth Amendment. (Mulligan, 2003)

When this is compared with the Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights, it is clear that the law is enhancing these protections over the Internet. This is occurring through forcing organizations to maintain records as to how any information is collected and stored. Moreover, they have to explain and disclose to them the way this data will be used. These proposed regulations are enhancing the protections provided under the Electronic Communications Privacy Act. This is accomplished by taking areas of security and privacy one step further. Then, applying them to the way information is utilized, stored and retrieved through forcing added disclosures in the process. ("Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights," 2012) (Mulligan, 2003) (Jones, 2012)

The Telephone Consumer Protections Act of 1991 is designed to protect the privacy of consumers against aggressive telemarketing tactics. This is achieved by forcing them to maintain a list of individuals who do not wish to be conducted about purchasing a variety of products and services. Furthermore, these protections were enacted to ensure that businesses are not engaging in tactics that are abusive by limiting the times when they can call and what they can say. (Caudill, 2000)

In contrast with the Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights, the proposed regulations are designed to enhance protections. This is occurring over the Internet vs. On the telephone. These differences are showing how there is a loop hole in existing regulations as to how these laws are applied. The new guidelines are building upon the provisions from the Telephone Consumer Protections Act of 1991 by establishing procedures as to the way confidential information is used and collected from firms. This is occurring is through placing limits on an organization's online activities. ("Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights," 2012) (Caudill, 2000) (Jones, 2012)

The Do Not Call Implementation Act of 2003 is building upon the protections that consumers' are receiving from harassing phone calls by telemarketers. This is occurring with the law requiring them to keep an enhanced do not call list utilizing an opt-out provision. The way it works is businesses are required to update who has requested to never be contacted by continually checking the federal registry for changes. These provisions apply to residential consumers. For businesses, nonprofits and political organizations; they are excluded from these guidelines. At the same time, the law established practices which are used to enforce its provisions by establishing procedures for going after firms that are in violation of the act. (Barlough, 2003)

The Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights is different from the Do Not Call Implementation Act of 2003. This is occurring through not requiring firms to maintain a do not contact list for online transactions. Instead, it is concentrating on protecting how their information is collected, stored and used for marketing purposes. ("Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights," 2012) (Barlough, 2003) (Jones, 2012)

However, these provisions are similar with each other by establishing the way they can be contacted and the tactics that are utilized with the information they obtain. In this aspect, both laws are similar and different through establishing how these practices are being used. The only dissimilarity is the form of communication that is utilized in the process. ("Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights," 2012) (Barlough, 2003) (Jones, 2012)