WASHINGTON, D.C.— Chairman John D. (Jay) Rockefeller IV announced that the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation will hold a hearing on “The Need for Privacy Protections: Is Industry Self-Regulation Adequate?”.  This hearing is a follow-up to the Commerce Committee hearing on May 9, 2012, which examined the privacy reports issued by the Obama Administration and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).  The Committee will hear testimony on the current state of industry self-regulation in providing consumers with adequate tools to protect their personal information.

“In our prior hearing on consumer privacy, both the Obama Administration and the FTC commended recent industry efforts to provide consumers with more privacy protections,” said Chairman Rockefeller.  “However, their reports also stated that industry can do more and that federal legislation is necessary.  In this follow-up hearing, I intend to closely examine how industry intends to fulfill its recent pledge to not collect consumers’ personal information when they utilize the self-regulatory ad icon or make “do-not-track” requests in their web browsers.”

Please note the hearing will be webcast live via the Senate Commerce Committee website.  Refresh the Commerce Committee homepage 10 minutes prior to the scheduled start time to automatically begin streaming the webcast. 

Individuals with disabilities who require an auxiliary aid or service, including closed captioning service for webcast hearings, should contact Collenne Wider at 202-224-5511 at least three business days in advance of the hearing date.

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