New Privacy Law Introduced... But Government Is Exempted

by Mike Masnick
Techdirt
Apr. 13, 2011

A lot of attention is being paid this week to Senators John Kerry and John McCain introducing a Commercial Privacy Bill of Rights, which would require companies to tell consumers exactly what data is being collected about them while also keeping that information safe (as if companies get hacked on purpose?!?). The proposed law does not have, as some expected, a "do not track" provision. This is a good thing. Still, it does seem a bit odd that these Senators are acting all concerned about individuals' privacy rights... at the same time the federal government is working hard to get around individual privacy rights and demolish the 4th Amendment.

Along those lines, it's quite notable that the provisions in the bill do not apply to the government. As Jim Harper asks in that linked article: "What's a bill of rights if it doesn't provide rights against the government?" Seems like an important question -- not that it's likely to get answered.