Washington,
Nov 15 -
In a victory for American consumers, the Senate has approved bipartisan legislation by Congresswoman Mary Bono Mack (CA-45) and Congressman G.K. Butterfield (NC-1) to reauthorize the U.S. SAFE WEB Act, extending important consumer protections to all Americans. Following Senate passage of her bill, which now awaits President Obama’s signature, Congresswoman Bono Mack – Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Manufacturing – released the following statement:
“The U.S. SAFE WEB Act provides critically important consumer protections, allowing the Federal Trade Commission to combat cross-border fraud, spam and spyware. I’m very pleased the President has expressed his support for it.
“Even though the Internet serves billions of users worldwide – with e-commerce in the United States topping $200 billion last year for the first time and up 15 percent so far this year – it still remains a work in progress. Yet, in just over 25 years, the Internet has not only changed our lives, it has become ‘part’ of our lives. But increasingly, Americans do not believe enough is being done today to protect them from online fraud.
“Frankly, I’m very concerned that e-commerce in the future will cease to grow and flourish if consumers lose faith in their ability to be protected from online predators, jeopardizing future innovation as well as our nation’s fragile economic recovery. That’s why reauthorizing the U.S. SAFE WEB Act has been one of my top priorities this year.”
About a decade ago, the Federal Trade Commission began to highlight the growing problems it encountered in effectively combating Internet scams and fraud directed at American citizens by foreign operators, often-times involving organized crime rings.
The FTC subsequently identified severe limitations in its authority to combat cross-border fraud, spam and spyware relative to that of other U.S. regulators. The biggest roadblock to protecting consumers was the Commission’s lack of authority to share information with foreign law enforcement agencies.
First approved by Congress in 2006, the U.S. SAFE WEB Act authorized the FTC to:
- Share information involving cross border fraud with foreign consumer protection agencies;
- Secure and protect confidential information from foreign consumer protection agencies from public disclosure that otherwise would not be shared by many foreign law enforcement agencies;
- Pursue fraud-based legal action by amending the “unfair or deceptive acts or practices” to include acts involving foreign commerce or material misconduct within the United States;
- Seek redress on behalf of foreign consumers victimized by U.S.-based wrong-doers; and finally
- Make criminal referrals for cross-border criminal activity when violations of FTC law also violate U.S. criminal law.
“Today, with nearly 1.5 billion credit cards in use in the United States, nearly everyone in America has a stake in making certain that the Federal Trade Commission has the powers it needs to combat cross-border fraud, spam and spyware,” Congresswoman Bono Mack added. “I want to thank Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Upton, Ranking Member Waxman, Ranking Subcommittee Member Butterfield, Senator Ayotte, Senator Pryor, Senator DeMint and everyone else who supported this important legislation. Passing this bill is good for American consumers. It’s good for the future of e-commerce. And it’s the right thing to do for our nation and our friends around the world.”
