What a difference a year makes:

[The Straight Story]

Obama Says Privacy Isn't Dead As White House Calls For 'Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights'

The White House nosedived into the privacy debate this week, releasing a ‘bill of rights’ for the digital age. In an opening letter, President Barack Obama weighs in on the “Is privacy dead?” question. He disagrees with Mark Zuckerberg here:

One thing should be clear, even though we live in a world in which we share personal information more freely than in the past, we must reject the conclusion that privacy is an outmoded value. It has been at the heart of our democracy from its inception, and we need it now more than ever.

The White House is aware of the fact that lots of information about us is being sucked up every time we surf the Net or open an app on our smartphones, and would like to see more regulation about what is and isn’t allowed in order to enhance consumer trust. The report calls on Congress to pass a “Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights” which the report outlines — and which sounds similar to the version that Senators John Kerry and John McCain have been kicking around the Senate.

So what’s in this proposed Consumer Bill of Privacy Rights? From the report [pdf]:

Individual Control: Consumers have a right to exercise control over what personal data companies collect from them and how they use it.
Transparency: Consumers have a right to easily understandable and accessible information about privacy and security practices.
Respect for Context: Consumers have a right to expect that companies will collect, use, and disclose personal data in ways that are consistent with the context in which consumers provide the data.
Security: Consumers have a right to secure and responsible handling of personal data.
Access and Accuracy: Consumers have a right to access and correct personal data in usable formats, in a manner that is appropriate to the sensitivity of the data and the risk of adverse consequences to consumers if the data is inaccurate.
Focused Collection: Consumers have a right to reasonable limits on the personal data that companies collect and retain.
Accountability: Consumers have a right to have personal data handled by companies with appropriate measures in place to assure they adhere to the Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2012/02/23/obama-says-privacy-isnt-dead/

[NYC_SKP]

1. Wow, outstanding!

K/R