As Cathy said at today’s markup, “It is critical that we ensure people have the information they need and the protections they deserve when it comes to online activities. Knowing who you are dealing with online is fundamental for people to have trust in the Internet. As we heard at our FTC oversight hearing in May and at our legislative hearing last month, the SAFE WEB Act makes sure the Commission has the tools they need to protect people from international schemes that can ruin lives.” 

She continued, “To win the future, it is critical that we—with our allies—have enforceable agreements to safely allow cross-border data flows. This will ensure our innovators can beat China, while also protecting people’s privacy from scams, spyware, and attacks. We all know, the Internet knows no borders. Because of that, people need to trust that they are protected from online threats that originate in foreign countries… That’s why the SAFE WEB Act is critical. It’s empowering the FTC and the United States to be the global leader in combatting fraud and privacy violations.” 

NOTE: The Undertaking Spam, Spyware, And Fraud Enforcement With Enforcers beyond Borders Act of 2006 (U.S. SAFE WEB Act) gives the FTC critical powers to enhance cross-border cooperation on consumer protection investigations and fraud actions, as well as to support cross-border data transfer mechanisms like the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield. 

Congress enacted the U.S. SAFE WEB Act in 2006 and reauthorized it in 2012 for the period through September 2020.