THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA

HOUSE RESOLUTION

INTRODUCED BY V. BROWN, KORTZ, CALTAGIRONE, FABRIZIO, PASHINSKI, D. COSTA, YOUNGBLOOD AND MURT, OCTOBER 24, 2011

REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT, OCTOBER 24, 2011  

A RESOLUTION

Urging the Congress of the United States to establish a

framework for online consumer privacy protections.

WHEREAS, The laws governing consumer privacy protections are

outdated and need to be modernized so that there is meaningful

enforcement in the present-day Internet landscape; and

WHEREAS, The current laws only cover some forms of

communication under one law in one government agency and other

kinds of communication under different laws administered by a

different Federal agency; and

WHEREAS, Without meaningful privacy protections for

consumers, new innovative technologies may go underutilized; and

WHEREAS, Consumers do not need more confusion and

bureaucracy, but rather confidence that comes from knowing there

is a simple process that can effectively deal with bad actors

who misuse or access sensitive information about them without

their appropriate consent; and

WHEREAS, Congress needs to establish a new privacy framework

based on four key consumer-focused principles: simplicity,

flexibility, effective enforcement and lack of harm; and

WHEREAS, Congress should provide consumers with a simple,

one-stop, seamless process within a single regulatory agency

that has the most expertise on privacy and enforcement issues;

and

WHEREAS, Similarly, consumers should know that all their

private data will have a common place to remedy grievances,

regardless of the type of entity that has their data; and

WHEREAS, The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), not the Federal

Communications Commission, can best ensure that a privacy

framework applies equally to all relevant entities and can best

field e-commerce consumer privacy complaints because it has

jurisdiction over the entire Internet ecosystem and it has much

more experience with the Internet as a whole; and

WHEREAS, Congress should adopt a framework with clear and

basic privacy protection principles that avoids a one-size-fits-

all approach, but instead embraces the fact that all information

is not the same and not all information has the same level of

privacy or sensitivity, as well as recognizing that business can

sometimes be more effective in understanding how new products

fit under broad privacy principles; and

WHEREAS, In a rapidly changing and innovative world where new

devices, applications, software and networks are being delivered

to consumers every day, overly detailed, prescriptive rules tend

to quickly become obsolete and lead to unintended negative

consequences that may ultimately stifle innovation and

investment and delay expansion of new technologies; and

WHEREAS, Any of these negative consequences can hobble the

American economy at a delicate time and, in the end, harm

consumers' privacy as well; therefore be it

RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives urge Congress to

establish a framework for online consumer privacy protections;

and be it further

RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to

the President of the United States, the presiding officers of

each house of Congress, each member of Congress from

Pennsylvania and the Federal Communications Commission.