ITAA Press Release.
Re: S 809, Online Privacy Protection Act.
Date: April 15, 1999.
Source: ITAA. Hypertext links were added. This document has been edited for HTML, but not for content.

Arlington, VA- The Information Technology Association of America (ITAA) today questioned the need for the Online Privacy Protection Act of 1999 introduced by Senator Conrad Burns (R-Mont.) and Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.). Burns and Wyden introduced their bill today at a press conference on Capitol Hill.

ITAA believes that the Act would create unnecessary regulations and restrictions on an industry that has made speedy progress towards self-regulation.

"Acceptance of Internet commerce is occurring at an unprecedented speed. The Internet as a consumer medium is only four years old, so it is natural that different consumers may require varying degrees of comfort level using it," said ITAA President Harris N. Miller. "The reluctance of some consumers to engage in Internet commerce after such a short period should not be seen as a need for regulation. Free market responses, technological innovation and cultural change, rather than special government rules is the best means to let individuals decide to shop online at their own pace."

ITAA believes the proposed legislation overlooks the broad strides forward that the Internet community has made towards self-regulation. It ignores technological and other tools that can empower consumers. The bill instead assumes that consumers can't be trusted to make their own informed online choices.

According to Mark Uncapher, ITAA Vice President and Counsel, "one of the principal benefits of online commerce is the potential for marketers to use technological means to customize their communications to the specific interests of individual consumers. Setting the Federal Trade Commission loose to regulate this Internet communication could stifle that innovation."

ITAA consists of 11,000 direct and affiliate members throughout the U.S. which produce products and services in the IT industry. The Association plays a leading role in public policy issues of concern to the IT industry, including taxes and finance policy, intellectual property, telecommunications law, encryption, critical infrastructure protection, securities litigation reform, and human resources policy. ITAA members range from the smallest IT start ups to industry leaders in the software, services, systems integration, telecommunications, Internet, and computer consulting fields. Learn more about ITAA and its positions on the issues by connecting to its web site at http://www.itaa.org.

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Mark Uncapher, Vice President & Counsel, Information Services & Electronic Commerce Div. Information Technology Association of America, "enabling the networked economy" 1616 N Ft. Myer Dr., # 1300 Arlington, VA 22209; 703-284-5344-direct, 703-525-2279 fax; muncapher@itaa.org; http://www.itaa.org/isec.htm

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