Awful Internet-Privacy Bill Dies in California Senate

A couple weeks ago, we wrote about state Senator Ellen Corbett's proposal (known as SB 242), which essentially would have destroyed web-based social networking in order to save it. Specifically, the bill would have required any website that allows users to create a publicly-viewable profile to force them to choose all their own privacy settings. This would make sites like Facebook cumbersome for new users, who would likely either opt for the quickest (and least restrictive) settings possible, or give up on the site entirely. Unsurprisingly, firms like Facebook, Twitter, and Google were opposed to the legislation, with Facebook being its most outspoken opponent; if you're wondering, the California Chamber of Commerce did include it on its list of job-killing legislation this week. Well, today brings us the good news (courtesy the San Francisco Chronicle) that the bill died in committee, although Corbett plans to bring it back for debate again next week.

As we said in our original article, we think concerns about the privacy practices of firms like Facebook are legitimate. But this is a problem begging for a free-market solution, rather than the blunt instrument of extermination by the government.