Minnesota Governor Weighs Internet Controls

Minnesota’s Senate and House overwhelmingly approved a bill that backers say would make the state the first to give Internet users control over whether service providers disclose their personal information.

Gov. Jesse Ventura will decide its fate. He has not indicated a position on the bill.

Under the bill, ISPs would have to tell Minnesota consumers whenever they plan to disclose such personal information about them as which Web sites they’ve visited, their e-mail or home addresses or telephone numbers. They also would have to say how the information would be used.

The bill would allow consumers to sue businesses that violate the law, with exceptions for giving information to law enforcement.

Lobbyists from America Online and other Internet giants fought the bill, saying state-by-state regulation of the Internet is unwieldy. The bill wouldn’t take effect until March 2003, and any federal law would supersede it.