Web portals team up to ward off privacy laws

Nine of the World's largest Web sites have teamed up in a Privacy Partnership, to prove that the US does not need stronger data protection laws.

Portal sites such as Altavista, Excite, Infoseek and Yahoo have pledged $3m worth of their banner advertising to the campaign, which is co-sponsored by Truste. Surfers clicking on the graphics will be taken to a page which explains how consumers and businesses can ensure their personal details are not used without their consent.

The three week campaign, which starts on Monday, is timed to coincide with the EU's new data protection act, which comes into effect this month.

From 24 October, countries within the European Economic Area will be banned from sending data to countries without adequate protection. As a result, the US government has come under pressure from the EU to strengthen its data protection legislation to match the new laws. However, President Clinton is encouraging the industry to adopt self-regulation as an alternative

The Privacy Partnership has been welcomed, in part, by the UK Data Protection Registrar. "Successful self-regulation might be something to take into consideration when deciding if a country offers adequate protection," said assistant registrar, Phil Jones. "But enforceability is the key issue so that an individual can seek recompense if things go wrong."