Privacy codes of conduct drafted by a team of businesses, consumers and privacy advocates will work better than government regulation or legislation, said Cameron Kerry of the Department of Commerce (DOC) in a PCWorld report. The DOC will lead stakeholder discussions to create privacy codes of conduct, providing a "nudge from the government" to industry efforts. The Federal Trade Commission would enforce the codes. Kerry spoke on the topic at the Brookings Institution yesterday, saying, "We need a process that is nimble enough to respond quickly to consumer data privacy issues as they emerge and can address them without the need for legislation or regulation. Legislation and regulation simply do not move at Internet speed." Kerry told the Daily Dashboard, "The message that we've gotten from consumers and business is that people want a clear set of rules for the road; that's what we're aiming to set out with the privacy bill of rights. We also want to send a message to international partners that the Obama Administration and the United States want to lead on this issue because international operability is just very important to maintaining the free flow of information on the Internet and to maintaining global trade."
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