Commerce Department Releases Data Privacy Report
The Department of Commerce Internet Policy Task Force released a Green Paper on "Commercial Data privacy and Innovation in the Internet Economy: A Dynamic Policy Framework." The report calls for the adoption of Fair Information Practices (FIPs), the development of privacy codes of conducts, and the creation of a privacy office in the Department of Commerce. But theCommerce report stops short of a legislative proposal and an independent privacy agency. Oddly, the report cites the 1990s "Safe Harbor" Arrangement as a successful policy initiative. EPIC has routinely advocated the adoption of FIPs as the basis for strong privacy laws and has recommended the establishment of a federal privacy agency.