WASHINGTON — Politicians have been jawboning about privacy for years. Last fall, Maryland's Sen. Paul Sarbanes tried something different: He campaigned on the issue.
Though the popular Democrat probably would have been reelected anyway, his unusual campaign--which relied heavily on TV spots touting his efforts to keep consumers' financial records from being peddled to marketers--was considered somewhat of a watershed event in the evolution of privacy from a social-studies debate into a full-fledged political issue that could take center stage in Washington this year.
With polls showing that consumers increasingly are worried about the use of their personal information, Congress' interest in privacy is stronger now than perhaps any time since the 1970s, when the Watergate scandal spurred a wave of new restrictions on the government collection of data about citizens.
Dozens of lawmakers, both Democrats and Republicans, are staking out ground in the debate, planning to offer scores of privacy-related bills this year. Internet privacy is drawing much of the attention. The Internet caucus, including 166 members of Congress, is considering issuing its own set of online-privacy recommendations.
And because privacy tends to draw bipartisan support, the issue may be tailor-made for the narrowly divided 107th Congress.
Most eyes are on Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who used his influential post as head of the Senate Commerce Committee to hold privacy hearings last year and is expected to reintroduce his online-privacy bill now that George W. Bush has been inaugurated as president.
McCain's bill, which requires companies to disclose what sort of data they collect online and give consumers a chance to opt out of the process, has the best shot of passage, analysts say.
But several other lawmakers are expected to push for tougher rules that would require companies to get consumers' prior approval before using or selling their personal data, known as an "opt-in" system.
Legislators who have expressed interest in privacy include Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah), Sen. Ernest F. Hollings (D-S.C.), Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Sen. Conrad R. Burns (R-Mont.).
Elsewhere, political and industry forces are gearing up for a privacy showdown this year.
Last spring, the Federal Trade Commission called on Congress to give it new enforcement powers to crack down on privacy abuses on the Internet.
