Thread: California Do-Not-Track Bill Passes First Test

Do-Not-Track Bill Passes First Test

Proposal Would Ban Online Consumer Tracking

POSTED: 10:01 am PDT May 3, 2011
UPDATED: 5:13 pm PDT May 3, 2011

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Landmark legislation that would prevent online monitoring of consumers passed its first legislative test on Tuesday, even as it sparked a fierce fight between online businesses and privacy advocates.

SB761 by Sen. Alan Lowenthal, D-Long Beach, would allow consumers to opt out of tracking by companies that do business in California. Lowenthal said the public isn't aware of how much tracking is going on.

"They do not even have a clue," Lowenthal said.

Video -- From The Field: First In The Nation

Video -- From The Field: Tracking Consumers

Consumer Watchdog, a Santa Monica-based advocacy group, is a major sponsor of the bill.

"I Phone users, Android phone users, they shouldn't have to worry about being spied on by their smart phones," Jamie Court, Executive Director of Consumer Watchdog, said.

Opponents of the legislation include the Association of California Insurance Companies and the California Banking Association.

Beth Mills of the California Banking Association said that tracking customers' habits is an important security tool.

Business representatives denounced the bill Tuesday, saying it would harm online commerce.

"This bill, SB761, is the equivalent of Texas stopping the oil industry," Fred Main, an attorney representing TechNet, said. "California's tech industry is of equal importance."

The bill's author said that commerce based on an invasion of privacy is not sustainable. The measure passed the Senate Judiciary Committee late Tuesday on a 3-2 vote. It now goes to the Appropriations Committee

http://www.kcra.com/politics/27760257/detail.html

Companies Angry over "Do Not Track" Internet Privacy Legislation

FOX40 News
7:30 p.m. PDT, May 3, 2011

SACRAMENTO—
The internet is used for a variety of searches, but when you’re looking up Mother’s Day gifts, hats, or even a viral video, that information is being tracked.

Companies can take that tracked information and target advertisements to someone based on their searches.

Lindsay Tabaian has noticed tracking, “You see the Facebook crawl come up on the side. Ads that are more relevant to me,â€