Privacy and consumer protection concerns have recently been a popular topic of conversation on Capitol Hill. Earlier this week, a new "Do Not Track" bill was introduced and a hearing on mobile privacy was held in the Senate. Policymakers are continuing the conversations, most recently addressing Facebook privacy flaws.Read more

Americans depend on the Internet for both their personal and professional lives, and protecting their personal information online is important. With cybersecurity and data breach threats occurring more frequently, Congress is ramping up a bipartisan effort on Capitol Hill to pass legislation that lays out standards for how companies must use and protect consumers’ personal information.Read more

On Friday, the Obama administration will unveil the National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace (NSTIC) which is intended to create a marketplace in secure online credentials. Commerce Secretary Garry Locke, White House cybersecurity coordinator Howard Schmidt and Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) will be present at the strategy’s unveiling at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.Read more

On Tuesday, Senators John Kerry (D-Mass.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.) will introduce a bill that addresses how companies should handle consumers’ personal information both online and offline. A press event has been scheduled in the Capitol to unveil The Commercial Privacy Bill of Rights Act of 2011.Read more

The Washington Post reports that Commerce Committee Chairman Sen. Jay Rockefeller plans to introduce a bill that would allocate additional spectrum for a public safety wireless data network for emergency first responders.

The Post says such a  bill would be a “win-win” for public safety and the companies who would voluntarily provide some of their extra spectrum for the effort. From the article:

"To recap, the Commerce Committee chairman said he plans to introduce a bill that would hand over 10 megahertz of spectrum to public safety officials, adding to the 10 they already possess. Police, fire and other public safety groups have argued they need that additional spectrum to meet data demands of the future."

"The bill essentially scraps a recommendation by the Federal Communications Commission to auction 10 megahertz of valuable spectrum to a commercial carrier, giving the proceeds of the spectrum to building the public safety network and the agreement that Congress and the carrier will continue to front building and operating costs of building a national network."

At Broadband for America, we applaud the effort to find public-private partnerships to increase broadband adoption and access, especially in the public safety sector. Read more about how broadband can improve public safety here and read the full Washington Post article here.Read more

Broadband for America is in Los Angeles this week for this year’s Cable Show. We’re spreading our message of bringing high-speed Internet access to every American home and business. Throughout the week, we’ll be bringing you updates from the show.

One of BfA’s signature issues is promoting broadband use through our nation’s educational system while simultaneously providing parents and kids with the tools to keep our children safe. Yesterday, the Cable Show hosted a discussion on that very subject, “Playing it Safe: Policy Approaches for Protecting Kids Online.” Some highlights from the discussion:

Jeff Weitzman, Common Sense Media: “Digital literacy really encompasses a set of skills and behaviors that both children and parents need to understand. When parents get involved, the statistics change. It’s not that hard to get these concepts across to kids.”

Doug Gansler, Maryland Attorney General: “I think there should be age verification rules. We need to respect that this is how kids communicate and that we understand that. At some point, as the younger kids get older, it will demystify that.”

Rob McKenna, Attorney General, Washington State: “I don’t think there’s much appetite to address privacy nationally. Whatever you do with privacy, there has to be a demand for the product. The solutions have to come from the users.”

Christine Kurth, FCC: “The FCC has a limited statutory authority in this area. The FCC can be used as a bully pulpit of sorts. A common sense approach that can be through the market as much as possible.”