Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., skewered advertisers for “dragging their feet … purposely” in developing voluntary do-not-track standards, during a committee hearing Wednesday. Rockefeller told reporters after the hearing he feels “very strongly” that legislation is needed to ensure that citizens’ privacy decisions are respected.

Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., skewered advertisers for “purposely … dragging their feet” in developing voluntary do-not-track standards, during a committee hearing Wednesday. Rockefeller told reporters after the hearing he feels “very strongly” that legislation is needed to ensure that citizens’ privacy decisions are respected. “This is all part of getting that 85, or 75 or 90 percent of the American public who have no idea what is being collected on them and for what reason,” he said.

The House passed an amended version of the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA) by a 288 to 127 vote Thursday. The revised CISPA aims to increase cyberthreat information sharing between the public and private sectors, something which cybersecurity experts say is needed to protect U.S. networks from attacks. HR-624 is a modified version of the information sharing legislation that passed by the House last year (HR-3523) but failed to achieve a vote in the Senate. Ninety-two Democrats voted for the bill Thursday, 50 more than voted for the CISPA bill that passed the House in the last Congress.

The House passed an amended version of the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA) by a 288 to 127 vote Thursday. The revised CISPA aims to increase cyberthreat information sharing between the public and private sectors, something which cybersecurity experts say is needed to protect U.S. networks from attacks. HR-624 is a modified version of the information sharing legislation that passed by the House last year (HR-3523) but failed to achieve a vote in the Senate. Ninety-two Democrats voted for the bill Thursday, 50 more than voted for the CISPA bill that passed the House in the last Congress.

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. -- Facebook and 19 attorneys general have teamed up to create a new online safety campaign, Maryland Attorney General Doug Gansler said during the annual National Association of Attorneys General Presidential Initiative Summit. Gansler leads NAAG. The summit included panels featuring former and current FTC officials, consumer privacy advocates and members of the online consumer data industry.

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. -- Facebook and 19 attorneys general have teamed up to create a new online safety campaign, Maryland Attorney General Doug Gansler said during the annual National Association of Attorneys General Presidential Initiative Summit. A privacy advocate panned the partnership as lacking safeguards for consumers. And the FTC will be looking very closely at “data brokers who collect information for the purposes of determining if consumers are eligible for certain things,” said Commissioner Julie Brill at the NAAG meeting.

Capitol Hill’s dormant net neutrality debate boiled over Wednesday afternoon as House lawmakers sparred ahead of the markup of a bill aimed at codifying the U.S. policy against “government control” of the Internet. Republicans on the House Communications Subcommittee argued that international governments are seeking to regulate the Web through a U.N. body and U.S. lawmakers must send a strong message that it’s committed to Internet freedom. But Democrats on the panel loudly objected to the bill’s use of the term “government control,” which they said was overly broad and could have unintended consequences on U.S. and foreign policy regarding the Web. Technology groups and public interest groups said they also opposed the “government control” language in the bill and urged lawmakers to reject or amend the provision in separate statements and blog posts.

Capitol Hill’s dormant net neutrality debate boiled over Wednesday afternoon as House lawmakers sparred ahead of the markup of a bill aimed at codifying the U.S. policy against “government control” of the Internet. Republicans on the House Communications Subcommittee argued that international governments are seeking to regulate the Web through a U.N. body and U.S. lawmakers must send a strong message that it’s committed to Internet freedom. But Democrats on the panel loudly objected to the bill’s use of the term “government control,” which they said was overly broad and could have unintended consequences on U.S. and foreign policy regarding the Web. Technology groups and public interest groups said they also opposed the “government control” language in the bill and urged lawmakers to reject or amend the provision in separate statements and blog posts.

Members of Congress, consumer advocates and former FTC Commissioner Thomas Rosch applauded the news that Commissioner Edith Ramirez has been tapped to lead the FTC. Ramirez will assume the post that was vacated by Jon Leibowitz earlier this year. As a sitting commissioner, she won’t need Senate confirmation to be promoted to chair the agency. “I am deeply honored at the opportunity to lead” the FTC, Ramirez said in a statement Thursday. Ramirez thanked Leibowitz “for his strong leadership” and said she looks “forward to working with my fellow commissioners and the able FTC staff to continue the agency’s proud history of promoting vigorous competition and protecting consumers.” According to the agency, Ramirez will begin serving as chairman on March 4.

Members of Congress, consumer advocates and former FTC Commissioner Thomas Rosch applauded the news that Commissioner Edith Ramirez has been tapped to lead the FTC. Ramirez is the White House pick for FTC chair, a position that was vacated by Jon Leibowitz earlier this year (WID Feb 4 p5), the agency announced Thursday. As a sitting commissioner, she would not need Senate confirmation to be promoted to chair the agency.