The following letter to the editor was published in The New York Times on Saturday, October 12, 2013:

To the Editor:

Your editorial urging “lawmakers to pass legislation that sets clear rules that would regulate and limit how businesses collect personal information, what they can use it for and how long they keep it” is absolutely correct (“Monitoring Your Every Move,” Oct. 10).

Most Americans don’t understand the murky world of data brokers and the extent to which companies have compiled digital dossiers about them. Meaningful privacy laws are necessary.

A year and a half ago President Obama called for privacy legislation and a Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights, but his administration has yet to propose a law. The administration must act now, or Mr. Obama’s words will be shown to have been mere empty rhetoric.

JOHN M. SIMPSON
Privacy Project Director
Consumer Watchdog
Santa Monica, Calif., Oct. 10, 2013