Markey, Barton to unveil online child privacy bill

Reps. Ed Markey, D-Mass., and Joe Barton, R-Texas, plan to circulate a discussion draft of their promised children's online privacy legislation Friday, which will include a controversial "do-not-track" provision.

The two congressmen co-chair the Bipartisan Congressional Privacy Caucus and have expressed increasing concern over recent privacy breaches, including reports that Apple's iPhones tracked and recorded their users' locations.

"Do you know where your children are is a question that every parent should know the answer to. But predators shouldn't be able to hack into an iPhone or Android to find out for themselves, with devastating consequences for families," Markey wrote in a statement at the time. Apple has denied that it tracks consumers' locations.

A Markey spokeswoman told Tech Daily Dose that in addition to addressing the location tracking issue, the proposed legislation will include a do-not-track provision for children, a "digital marketing bill of rights" for teens, and a provision for an "eraser button" to eliminate a child's information online.

Sens. John Kerry, D-Mass., and John McCain, R-Ariz., introduced their own consumer privacy bill last month. That bill does not include a do-not-track clause, which would require Web browsers to allow users to prevent companies from collecting information online.