FAQ: What’s in the ‘Privacy Bill of Rights’ ? Is it enough to hope that consumers’ data will be stored and transmitted securely?

Hayley Tsukayama
Washington Post
February 24, 2012

The Obama administration announced what it calls its “Privacy Bill of Rights” Thursday, a long-awaited framework suggesting how companies should protect consumer information online.

What are the rights? The document outlines seven main “rights” that consumers should have, and the administration will work with Congress to enact legislation based on these rights. Notably, there’s no mention of mobile privacy in this document.

— Individual Control: In a nutshell, people should have the right to control their own data. Companies should write clear, easy-to-understand privacy policies, and give consumers a way to limit consent or opt out of data collection that is as easy as opting in.

— Transparency: Companies should be clear about what data they collect, why they need it, how they use it, who they share it with and when they will delete it.

Read full report here