Max Cleland: “just last week I read an article that described the practice of online companies placing prices on people's personal…”

“just last week I read an article that described the practice of online companies placing prices on people's personal information in order to raise revenue. When the Internet revolution began, I do not believe anyone thought the buying and selling of our personal information would be where these companies would turn when they began to experience difficulties in the financial markets. My constituents have expressed to me their concerns over such practices, and I have responded by co-sponsoring Senator Hollings' bi-partisan legislation to enact reasonable privacy standards on personal information gathered on-line. In May 2000, the Federal Trade Commission, FTC, issued its third report to Congress on the state of online privacy. Due to the fact that there remained a great deal of concern by consumers over how their information is used by online companies, so much so that some consumers provided false information or did not utilize the commercial aspects of the Internet altogether, the FTC recommended legislation to establish online privacy guidelines. Introduction of this legislation is a step in the right direction, and a step closer to the FTC's recommendation.”