Three New Federal Privacy Laws Proposed

Congress has been busy recently on the consumer privacy front. Three federal privacy bills were recently proposed — two by Representative Jackie Speier (D-Calif.) and one by Representative Bobby Rush (D-Ill.).

Rush Best Practices Act

On February 10, 2011, Rep. Rush reintroduced his Best Practices Act (http://tinyurl.com/6kkucwx), which would establish national requirements for collecting and sharing personal information. The legislation ensures that consumers have meaningful choices about the collection, use, and disclosure of their personal information and requires companies to:

• Disclose their practices with respect to the collection, use, disclosure, merging, and retention of personal information, and explain consumers' options regarding those practices.