Chairman of the Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade Subcommittee Lee Terry (R-Neb.) and Ranking Member Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) launched a Privacy Working Group on Aug. 1 to examine concerns about online privacy.
The group’s goal is to examine a complicated situation with an approach that will protect personal information in a manner that preserves and encourages growth and innovation. Reps. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Peter Welch (D-Vt.) will co-chair the group.
“My goal in working with Ranking Member Schakowsky and the other members of the working group is to come to an agreement on principles and determine what we need to fix or if we need to fix anything,” Terry said. “I believe at the end of the day a bipartisan, consensus-driven approach will help us move forward towards a common bipartisan solution.”
Blackburn said the group will search for opportunities to work together to safeguard the sensitive personal information of online consumers.
“As more and more personal information is shared and collected online, it is critical that we take commonsense steps to ensure data privacy,” Schakowsky said. “I thank Chairman Terry for his efforts to address the privacy issue in a bipartisan and consumer-focused way, and I look forward to participating in this working group to address the privacy challenges we face.”