Over the past several months, concerns about individual privacy in electronic transactions have captured the attention of the public, the media, and policy makers. Mirroring the concern with online privacy, a number of recent activities indicate the increased legislative focus on privacy, including:

H.R. 98. Consumer Internet Privacy Protection Act of 1997. Requires prior written consent before a computer service can disclose a subscribers' personal information to a third party and allows consumers to access and correct information. Introduced by Rep Bruce Vento (D-MN) on 1/7/97. Referred to the Committee on Commerce.

Greenspan on Privacy. Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan has delivered a major speech discussing privacy and electronic payment systems, noting the need for policies that "avoid the risk of a gradual, long-term erosion of privacy."

FTC Privacy Activities. The Federal Trade Commission has announced that it will conduct a "computer database study" to examine personal information held by private companies used to locate individuals. A Public Workshop on Consumer Information Privacy is scheduled for June 10-13.

Children's Privacy Protection Act

Representative Bob Franks (R-NJ) and Senator Diane Feinstein (D-CA) have introduced the Children's Privacy Protection and Parental Empowerment Act. The bill would establish fair information practices for personal information about kids and curb recent abuses in the direct marketing industry.

The Children's Privacy Protection and Parental Empowerment Act would:

• Prohibit the sale or purchase of personal information about children without parental consent.
• Require list brokers and solicitors to disclose to parents, upon request, the source and content of personal information on file about their children.
• Require list brokers to disclose to parents, upon request, the names of persons or entities to whom they have distributed personal information on that parent's child.
• Prohibit prisoners and convicted sex criminals from processing the personal information of children.
• Prohibit any exchange of children's personal information that one has a reason to believe will be used to harm or abuse a child.
• Establish civil remedies and criminal penalties for violations of the Act.