Obama administration to target Internet privacy: report

The United States is preparing to boost efforts to police Internet privacy, with a push for new laws and a new office to manage the effort, the Wall Street Journal said Friday.

President Barack Obama's Commerce Department is preparing a report on the strategy that will be released in the coming weeks, the Journal said.

Obama's administration, in a break from previous governments that relied on the Internet industry's self-regulation, will take a more hands-on approach to online privacy, an issue that has embroiled Internet giants Google and Facebook in recent months.

The United States does not have a comprehensive law on the books to deal with Internet privacy. As opposed to detailing specific legislative goals, the new privacy position overseeing the effort would look to direct the debate, according to the draft Commerce Department report, said the newspaper.

The Obama administration is "committed to promoting policies that will preserve consumer privacy online while ensuring the Web remains a platform for innovation, jobs, and economic growth," said a Commerce Department spokesman quoted by the Journal.

"These are complementary goals, because consumer trust in the Internet is essential for businesses to succeed online."

(c) 2010 AFP