Representatives from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Department of Commerce (DoC) testified yesterday in front of a Senate subcommittee to press for Congressional action on the agencies' proposed privacy frameworks. The DoC's Cameron Kerry said, "Granting direct enforcement authority to the FTC would enable the commission to take action against outliers and bad actors even if their actions do not violate a published privacy policy," The New York Times reports. Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA) cautioned, "Proponents of privacy legislation and of granting the (FTC) authority to regulate online activity really should clearly demonstrate the market failure and consumer harm they seek to address." FTC Chairman Jon Liebowitz said the agency is "optimistic" that a do-not-track mechanism "will be in place by the end of the year." (Registration may be required to access this story.)
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