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Committee News The House Committee on Energy and Commerce |
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Tauzin Delivers Statement on Information Privacy
WASHINGTON (April 3) – Rep.
Billy Tauzin (R-LA), Chairman of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, today is
expected to deliver the following statement at a Commerce, Trade and Consumer
Protection hearing on information privacy:
“I want to thank Subcommittee Chairman Stearns for
calling this hearing today. This is
the third hearing on the subject of privacy in this Committee and I understand
Chairman Stearns is lining up additional hearings for the future on this
subject. Chairman Stearns is
approaching this issue in a thoughtful manner with the intention of educating
both the Members of the Subcommittee and the public at large.
“Today's
hearing is an effort to examine existing Federal privacy statutes. I think we can gain at least three main themes from this
hearing. First, I think we can get
a good picture of the multiple efforts Congress has taken to enact privacy
protections over the years. There
has been a tremendous amount of work done in this area and a number of very
substantial statutes govern the privacy of commercial transactions. However, not everything is a ‘privacy protection’ and thus subject to
this hearing. For instance,
identity theft is an important topic and the subject of recent press reports.
“Identity
theft -- which is already illegal and subject to stiff penalties -- may or may
not be the result of poor privacy protections.
“Second,
I think that this hearing will give us an understanding of what has not
already been done -- the universe of what is left.
“Lastly,
I think we can get an understanding of potential flaws in previous efforts that
have resulted in unintended consequences.
“The
last thing we need to do is duplicate the errors of our past.
“I
am hopeful that the witnesses will be able to enlighten the Subcommittee on the
relevant statutes as well as address the other issues I outlined. I am especially pleased to hear from AT&T on their perspective on
existing Federal laws on privacy and I look forward to hearing from others on
this matter. Corporate America
generally has a great story to tell of privacy and its relationship with
customer information exchange. This story often gets lost among the latest press clip of a
rogue company's
privacy practices or hypotheticals imagined by those with an agenda to push.
“Current
privacy protections have a real impact on real companies and real consumers.
Over the years, we have heard an awful lot about imaginary scenarios of
how corporate America is violating the privacy of its consumers B
the lifeblood of its business. We
hear a lot about what could be done with new technologies and information
exchange, but a number of these possibilities do not make sense in the business
world. The truth of the matter is
that privacy is good corporate policy, not unlike good customer service.
“You don't
have to tell companies that if you abuse consumer confidence it places a serious
risk on the ability to retain customers.
“This
is part of the reason that companies spend so much time and money building brand
names. The real cost of obtaining,
retaining, or winning back former customers is not lost on American
corporations.
“It
is important to note that the issue of privacy is not new to this Committee or
Congress, in general. Privacy is
not something that was recently developed, or in response to the advent of the
Internet.
“In
the vast majority of instances, U.S. privacy laws have developed over the years
as a response to particular problems. For
example, the Video Privacy Act was the result of efforts to review a Supreme
Court nominee's
video rentals with the hope of exposing enough dirt to undue the nomination.
“I
will be one of the first to admit that the U.S. approach towards privacy has
been piecemeal, but piecemeal is not necessarily a bad thing. In the last privacy hearing, we looked at an effort to enact a
comprehensive regime by the European Union. I think that hearing highlighted a number of real problems with that
approach and the resulting product. Given
the choice between the two approaches, I am more than happy to defend our
approach over a comprehensive, proscriptive regime.
“On
that note, let me comment on the disputes regarding the EU Data Privacy
Directive that was the subject of the last hearing before this Subcommittee.
I was pleased to see the new Administration's
letter to our European colleagues questioning the so-called Amodel contracts@
and seeking additional discussions on the matter. The Subcommittee hearing highlighted the need for the Administration to
be on top of this issue. I must
admit that I question the real intent of the model contracts. As presented to us, it seems the model contracts are an effort to
undercut the so-called Asafe
harbor@
and further impose a European privacy approach on the U.S. I think it is clear that the Europeans do not understand U.S. business
practices, behaviors or policies. They
also seem unaware of the vast benefits of information exchange. I see the need for negotiations on this issue in the near future as this
issue may have a real impact our trade relations with the Europeans. I also compliment the Administration on their attention to this matter
and seek their additional involvement as necessary to find an acceptable outcome
to all parties.
“Lastly,
as I mentioned, I hope we get a chance in this hearing or future ones to touch
upon the real and potential unintended consequences in current statutes. For instance, while everyone agrees with protecting the privacy of
children as they navigate the Internet, experience suggests that the existing
statute, the Child Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), has forced companies
to discontinue a number of products targeted towards children. “Instead
of complying with the statute, a number of sites just stopped serving youths
less than 13 years of age. While
this sounds positive, there are downsides. If we have forced private companies or non-profits to eliminate
beneficial products, such as crime prevention material, have we done a good
thing? If teen-friendly sites B
those that totally respect the privacy of users B stop offering email services to children, is
that a good thing? If kids lie
about their age just to qualify for certain features, is that a good thing?
Again, I thank the Subcommittee Chairman, thank the witnesses and look forward to
another step in this process.
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