While there’s been a ‘light touch” applied to privacy issues in the past, the Commerce Dept. now is intent on getting a clearer picture of what is happening “in the nexus of privacy and innovation on the Internet,” the NTIA source points out. Policymakers and the president as well consider this an important topic and the goal is to provide the White House with advice, including possibly policy direction for the future.

In order to foster a dialog with industry and the broader public, the Commerce Dept. will hold a public meeting on May 7th to discuss privacy policy in the United States. It will be held in the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, D.C.

In addition, the Commerce Dept. Is seeking public comment from the commercial sector, the academic world, all other organizations with interest in the issue, as well as individual citizens with views on the current privacy laws in the U.S. and around the world as they apply and influence the information economy.

The Commerce Department indicated it “seeks to understand whether current privacy laws serve consumer interests and fundamental democratic values.”

The topic of privacy of personal information and online services has always elicited strong views, especially from those who believe too much personal information is stored or manipulated for commercial gain, or that companies go just a little too far.This week Eric Schmidt, Google’s chairman and CEO, was scolded by no less than 10 government officials from countries that include Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Spain, the United Kingdom and elsewhere, who sent a public letter to him expressing deep concern that Google isn’t adequately protecting personal privacy.