As the Federal Trade Commission and House Consumer Protection Subcommittee, and the Obama administration all consider possible "do not track" mechanisms, including legislation, for online data collection, Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) has pledged to introduce legislation that would create such a regime targeted to data collection for kids.
"Children should be playing ‘Hide and Seek' not ‘Hide from the Creep.' That's why to ensure that kids are protected, I plan to introduce legislation next year that will include a 'Do Not Track' requirement so that kids do not have their online behavior tracked or their personal information collected or profiled," he said in a statement. "I look forward to working with my colleagues to move this legislation forward."
A spokesman said Markey had not decided whether a child would be defined as 18 and under or 13 and under, but he hopes to introduce the bill early next year. That announcement came as the House Energy & Commerce Committee Consumer Protection Subcommittee was debating whether it was time to expand current proposed online privacy legislation to include do not track.
That would be a way to give surfers blanket and easy opt-out of online data tracking, which in addition to potential use by online stalkers and other "creeps" is also used to target online advertising that helps support free online content.
