U.S. lawmaker today introduced a bill that would give the Federal Trade Commission authority to create an online do-not-track system, in a move to prevent advertisers from tracking what users do online.
The bill, called the "Do Not Track Me Online" Act is similar to the "Do Not Call Registry" established in 2003, aiming to create a system to force online advertisers to respect the wishes of users who don't want to be tracked for marketing purposes.
"Failure to do so would be considered an unfair or deceptive act punishable by law," said a statement from the office of Rep. Jackie Speier, a Democratic Representative, who is sponsoring the bill. "These two bills send a clear message -- privacy over profit."
The "Do Not Track" bill would direct the FTC to develop a set of regulations that would allow consumers to "effectively and easily" opt out of having their online behavior tracked or recorded.
Mozilla has already stated it will add a do-not-track tool in an upcoming version of its Firefox Web browser. Thus far, no tracking firms have said they will participate in such a system.
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