A comparison of proposed legislative data privacy protections in the United States

The use of online consumer tracking methods has raised significant privacy concerns for consumers and policymakers for decades. Advertisers using these methods analyze web-viewing habits to predict consumer preferences and actions. The advertising industry in the United States has promoted self-regulatory principles to respond to these concerns. However, in December 2010, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission reported that these efforts “have been too slow and up to now have failed to provide adequate and meaningful protection.” President Barack Obama's administration has supported broader legislation for comprehensive protection of individuals' private data. The leading model for data privacy protection is the 1980 Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Guidelines on the Protection of Privacy and Transborder Flows of Personal Data. This article examines two leading legislative privacy proposals in the context of the OECD principles. This examination concludes that, although the proposals do not provide sufficient comprehensive privacy protections, they do fill significant gaps in current U.S. privacy laws.