Twelve companies will issue a joint statement supporting in principle comprehensive consumer privacy legislation. The statement outlines the need to create a simplified, harmonized and flexible legal framework to allow for the free flow of information and commerce, while providing protection for consumers from increasing incidents of identify theft, fraud and intrusions of privacy.

The announcement comes at a time when studies reveal a decline of consumer trust on the Internet. A nationwide survey released in May 2006 by the Cyber Security Industry Alliance reports that 94 percent of people polled cite identity theft as a serious problem and only 24 percent feel that businesses are placing the right emphasis on protecting information.

"Increased use and access to information, often made possible through advances in technology, has greatly benefited society through the exchange of ideas, enhanced economic productivity, and increased access to goods and services," said Peter Swire, the C. William O'Neill Professor of Law at the Ohio State University. "Without the appropriate safeguards, however, access to information can pose potential harms to consumers resulting in a general lack of confidence that their information is safe. Unaddressed, a loss of trust has an adverse impact on economic growth and innovation," added Professor Swire.

Statement of Support in Principle for Comprehensive Consumer Privacy Legislation :
Today we live in a digital economy where both beneficial and potentially harmful uses of personal information are multiplying.  Information about individuals is used by businesses to: provide consumers with an unprecedented array of goods and services; increase productivity; promote access to financial products; and protect individuals, business and society from fraud and other bad acts. However, that same information can also be misused to harm individuals, with results such as identity theft, deception, unwarranted intrusion, embarrassment, and loss of consumer
confidence.

The time has come for a serious process to consider comprehensive harmonized federal privacy legislation to create a simplified, uniform but flexible legal framework. The legislation should provide protection for consumers from inappropriate collection and misuse of their personal
information and also enable legitimate businesses to use information to promote economic and social value. In principle, such legislation would address businesses collecting personal information from consumers in a transparent manner with appropriate notice; providing consumers with meaningful choice regarding the use and disclosure of that information; allowing consumers reasonable access to personal information they have provided; and protecting such information from misuse or unauthorized access. Because a national standard would preempt state laws, a robust framework is warranted.

About the Consumer Privacy Legislative Forum: The Consumer Privacy Legislative Forum was organized in the winter of 2006 to support a process to consider comprehensive consumer privacy legislation in the United States. The Forum began with a Steering Committee of companies eBay,
Hewlett-Packard, and Microsoft, the consumer group Center for Democracy and Technology, and Professor Peter Swire of the Ohio State University. An expanded list of companies has now signed the Statement of Support in Principle for Comprehensive Consumer Privacy Legislation. In addition, the Forum has had detailed meetings with a diverse set of industry actors and consumer groups, in order to identify issues that need resolution as part of any eventual legislation. By providing a forum for discussion of these issues, the CPL Forum hopes to foster a more informed legislative debate, leading to privacy provisions that benefit both industry and consumers.

CPL Forum members signing the statement today are: Eastman Kodak Co.; eBay Inc.; Eli Lilly and Co.; Google, Inc.; Hewitt and Associates; Hewlett-Packard Co.; Intel Corp.; Microsoft Corp.; Oracle Corp.; Procter & Gamble Co.; Sun Microsystems, Inc.; Symantec Corp.

Source: Consumer Privacy Legislative Forum