Chamber Urges Senate to Reject Hollings' Privacy Proposal

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The United States Chamber of Commerce today joined associations representing every major industry sector involved with Internet privacy to urge members of the Senate Commerce Committee to reject Senator Fritz Hollings' online privacy proposal.

"The Hollings' proposal has serious flaws," said Bruce Josten, Chamber executive vice president. "If enacted, this bill would derail the growth of online commerce and could actually increase identity thefts by making it easier to obtain personal information."

According to the Chamber, the legislation by Senator Hollings would impose unnecessary and burdensome requirements on online commerce, pave the way for class action lawsuits, and would not attempt to address or harmonize the many federal laws already governing consumer privacy.

"There are already more than 30 federal laws in place safeguarding individuals' privacy," said Josten. "This would just be another costly layer of bureaucratic red tape that opens the Pandora's box for class action lawsuits. Trial lawyers will get rich, but it won't help American consumers."

The Chamber has been a leader on the privacy issue, educating lawmakers, businesses, and consumers on the significant contributions the business community has made to protecting consumers' privacy, both on- and off-line. The Chamber is also a founding member of the Privacy Leadership Initiative and the Online Privacy Alliance, groups of companies and CEOs working to create an environment of trust in the online world.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world's largest business federation, representing more than three million businesses and organizations of every size, sector and region.

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