Bishops welcome consumer privacy bill of rights

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) welcomed the Obama Administration’s unveiling its “Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights,” February 23. The privacy bill provides guidelines for protecting the privacy of all Americans online.
“We support all of the privacy rights enumerated by this proposal – individual control; transparency; respect for context; security; access and accuracy; focused collection; and accountability,” said Bishop John C. Wester of Salt Lake City, chair of USCCB Committee on Communications. “The Internet holds great potential. To realize this potential, however, it is essential that Americans know they are not exposing private information when they go online.”
“We believe that everyone has a role in ensuring the protection of basic privacy rights on the Internet,” said Helen Osman, USCCB Secretary of Communications. “So we are also pleased to see that online advertisers will respect ‘Do Not Track’ settings in web browsers. This is another positive step for consumer privacy.”
The USCCB is committed to a safe Internet, especially for children. According to the USCCB, the conference has filed in numerous proceedings at the Federal Communications Commission and Federal Trade Commission on the topic of children’s safety online. In the fall of 2012 the USCCB, in partnership with the Greek Orthodox Church of America, will release an Online Safety Guide for parents and faith communities.

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