House committee passes privacy protection bill

IDG News Service - Responding to complaints about the loss of privacy caused by new regulations and policies enacted since last year's terrorist attacks, a congressional committee approved a bill this week requiring federal agencies to consider the impact new rules could have on individuals' privacy.
The U.S. House Judiciary Committee approved by voice vote the Federal Agency Protection of Privacy Act yesterday, clearing it for consideration by the full U.S. House of Representatives sometime next month.
The bill, which was written by Rep. Bob Barr, (R-Ga.), would compel agencies to conduct a privacy impact analysis when proposing new rules and publish it for public comment.
"This bill will not [only] make the federal government more accountable to the American people, but it will also serve to slow the growing erosion of citizens' privacy rights," Barr said in a statement following the committee's approval of the bill.
The legislation calls for a privacy analysis that details any collection of personally identifiable information and how that information would be used and shared. Agencies would also have to state how they intend to secure individuals' information, as well as offer alternative regulations that would have a lesser impact on individuals' privacy.
While the bill has won bipartisan support for the added transparency it would provide, it does not go so far as to prevent agencies from passing regulations that would impact public privacy.
Barr's legislation, introduced in April, comes at a time when concerns about the effects of new government regulations on privacy have come to the forefront, especially in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks (see story).
Civil libertarians and other concerned parties have taken issue with changes made by the FBI that loosen rules on domestic spying and make it easier for agents to conduct searches and seizures.
While the transparency stipulated by the Federal Agency Protection of Privacy Act is a move toward protecting individuals' privacy, whether it would encourage agencies to scale back invasive regulations remains to be seen.

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