Sweeping legislation requiring all federal agencies to publicly detail how new proposed rules and regulations affect personal privacy was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives this week.
Under the Federal Agency Protection of Privacy Act (HR-4561), agencies would be required to include a privacy impact analysis with any rule proposal that is circulated for public notice and comment.
They would also have to disclosed what information would be gathered, and how it would be collected, maintained and used, according to Rep. Bob Barr (R-GA), the bill's author.
And they would have to reveal any data sharing with other agencies or groups.
Government agencies would also have to include a privacy impact statement in any rule or regulation that is adopted after reviewing any comments received from the public.
Additionally, the bill would require all federal agencies to conduct periodic reviews of their rules and regulations, determining both their need and continued impact on personal privacy.
The measure also provides for both congressional and judicial review of all rules and regulations.
"From medical records to surveillance cameras and from government snooping on the Internet to recent calls for a national ID, we are seeing first hand each day, the importance of guarding our right to privacy," Barr said in a statement.
He added that the bill would "reform the regulatory process" and make government more accountable to the public.
"Americans deserve to know how new rules and regulations passed by the government will affect their right to privacy," he said.
There was no immediate comment from the Direct Marketing Association. But the bill was endorsed by Privacy Times publisher Evan Hendricks, who said it puts "common sense into law" and sets "a privacy standard for the private sector."
He added that many companies "are doing privacy impact assessments on their new products and services."
Privacy Journal publisher Robert Ellis Smith, who didn't see the bill pleasing most privacy advocates, said that although most of the provisions in Barr's bill were "knocked out of the Privacy Act of 1974, it deserves serious scrutiny" nonetheless.
The only danger with it, he added is the possibility that it "may divert necessary reforms in the private sector."
