LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
SCHOOL STARTS WITHOUT STUDENT-PRIVACY RULES
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As students head back to school, the Department of Education has yet to issue rules to clarify the privacy requirements of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act enacted at the start of the year.
Schools must still comply with the new law, which requires schools to notify parents about some in-school data-collection activities and develop policies for information collected for non-educational purposes. According to Department officials, it may be awhile before draft rules are issued, as rule-writers have been consumed with other parts of the massive new law. In the meantime, some school officials have contacted the Department this summer to ask for guidance about the new law.
Once the Department issues draft regulations, Kids in the Know and others will have the chance to comment on them, propose modifications, and work with Department officials before final rules are set in place.
LAWMAKERS TO PUSH ONLINE-PRIVACY BILL THIS MONTH
Congress returns today for one of the busiest Septembers ever, and two key lawmakers are set to resume a push for the major privacy legislation of the year, dealing with the collection of information on the Internet.
Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ernest Hollings (D-SC) is seeking a Senate vote on his online-privacy bill, which his panel approved it by a 15-8 vote on May 17. The Hollings bill would require companies to get an individual’s consent before they collect “sensitive” information including health, finances, sexual orientation, religion, and Social Security numbers. Web sites would have to post clear privacy-policy notices.
The legislation would also authorize the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to write rules applying the same standards to offline businesses.
The Chairman of the House Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection Subcommittee, Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-FL), plans to have a bill he’s drafted considered this month by the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
Backed by the panel’s Chairman, Rep. Billy Tauzin (R-LA), the Stearns bill would require online vendors to give customers the opportunity to "opt-out" of having their personal information shared with other entities. The bill defines personally identifiable information to include name, address, e-mail address, telephone number, and social security number.
For more information – contact Michael Fleischer at 202/667-0901, or send an e-mail to info@kidsintheknow.org.
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