États-Unis: vers une protection des renseignements personnels en ligne

Le 23 février 2012, l'administration Obama a présenté un projet visant à encadrer la protection des renseignements personnels sur les environnements électroniques: Consumer Data Privacy in a Networked World: A Framework for Protecting privacy and Promoting Innovation in the Global Digital Economy. 

L'élément de base de ce projet est la mise en place d'un Consumer Privacy Bill of Right faisant référence aux principes énoncés dans différents instruments internationaux dont ceux de l'Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques (Lignes directrices de l'OCDE) ou de la Coopération économique pour l'Asie-Pacifique (APEC Privacy Framework). 

Ces principes se présentent de la façon suivante:  

Individual Control: Consumers have a right to exercise control over what personal data companies collect from them and how they use it. (p. 11)

Transparency: Consumers have a right to easily inderstandable and accessible information about privacy and security practices. (p. 14)

Respect for Context: Consumers have a right to wxpect that companies will collect, use, and disclosure personal data in ways that are consistent with the context in which consumers provide the data. (p. 15)

Security: Consumers have a right to secure and responsible handling of personal. (p. 19)

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. (p. 19)

Focused Collection: Consumers have a right to reasonable limits on the presonal data that companies collect and retain. (p. 21)

Accountability: Consumers have a right to have personal data handled by companies with appropriate measures in place to assurer they adhere to the Consumer Privacy Bill of rights. (p. 21)

(Source: Framework, pp. 9-22)

Pour mettre en oeuvre ces principes, "the Administration encourages individual companies, industry groups, privacy advocates, consumer groups, crime victims, academics, international partners, State Attorneys General, Federal civil and criminal law enforcement representatives, and other relevant groups to participate in multistakeholder processes to develop codes of conduct that implement these general principles" (p. 23). Et, c'est la Federal Trade Commission qui aura pour rôle de veiller à l'application de ces principes (pp. 29-30).

L'administration Obama reconnaît qu'il s'agit là d'un début (p. ii) ... à suivre donc. 

Pour aller plus loin: 

•  THE WHITE HOUSE, Consumer Data Privacy in a Networked World: A Framework for Protecting Privacy and Promoting Innovation in the Global Digital Economy, February 2012. 

• "White House Announces Its Highly Anticipated Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights", Privacy and Information Security Law Blog, February 23, 2012.
• Laura BROOKOVER, "White House Releases "Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights"", Inside Privacy, February 23, 2012.
• ELECTRONIC PRIVACY INFORMATION CENTER, "White House Sets Out Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights"", February 23, 2012.
• "L'administration Obama dévoile un plan de protection des données en ligne", La Presse, 23 février 2012.
• "Obama propose une "déclaration des droits" pour la vie privée en ligne", Le Monde, 23 février 2012.
• Edward WYATT, "White House, Consumers in Mind, Offers Online Privacy Guidelines", The New York Times, February 23, 2012. 
• Jennifer VALENTINO-DEVRIES, "White House Proposes Web Privacy Legislation", The Wall Street Journal, February 23, 2012.