Several pieces of privacy legislation - that could effect business performance - are currently in the pipeline in Washington:

1. The Notification of Risk to Personal Data Act (modeled after the California law) which was introduced by Senator Diane Feinstein in late June, but has no cosponsors. The bill would require companies to notify customers when they believe customers’ unencrypted personal information has been compromised.
2. The Consumer Privacy Protection Act of 2003; which was introduced by Representative Cliff Stearns in April and has 22 cosponsors. The bill would require companies to provide privacy notices to customers when information is being collected. The notice would provide an explanation why the information was being collected and allow customers to opt out.
3. The Online Personal Privacy Act; which was introduced by Senator Ernest Hollings in April 2002. The bill would require companies to obtain specific consent from a user before collecting any personally identifiable information.

Source: Congress Takes Small Steps On Privacy Legislation - http://www.infoworld.com/article/03/07/18/HNsmallsteps_1.html