On February 23, 2012, the White House issued a proposal to adopt a Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights. The new proposal is part of the Administration’s efforts to adopt a comprehensive consumer data privacy framework that applies to all personal data, defined as any data that can be linked to a specific individual or device. The Administration’s efforts are also intended to bring about conformity with the privacy principles that have become the norm in other countries such as in Europe, thereby increasing interoperability between the U.S. privacy framework and that which has arisen in the rest of the world.

For now, the Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights is still a blueprint and does not include enforceable rules, but the Administration is pursuing implementation through legislation and a multistakeholder rule-making process.