CDT Cautions Congress About DPI Technologies; Urges Enactment of Baseline Consumer Privacy Law

Today, Leslie Harris, President and CEO of CDT testified before the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications, Technology and the Internet telling the congressional panel that Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) technologies pose a serious challenge to privacy and the openness and innovation of the Internet. Because all applications of DPI raise serious privacy concerns owing to the interception and analysis that’s done on all of a user’s Internet traffic, policymakers must carefully consider each use of DPI and balance the perceived benefit against the risks to civil liberties, Harris said. CDT believes that only rare uses of DPI will be acceptable after such examination and then only with additional privacy safeguards including enactment of baseline consumer privacy legislation. At the hearing, Subcommittee Chairman Rep. Rick Boucher (D-VA) restated his intention to introduce a comprehensive consumer privacy bill this year.