The New York Times reported yesterday that congress was launching an inquiry into data collection services to determine whether or not they should enact a law regulating the industry. Representative Edward J. Markey (D-MA) is leading the investigation, and said he was "particularly troubled by data broker programs that categorize individual consumers as desirable or undesirable sales prospects." Also, a former secretary of homeland security, Michael Chertoff, wrote an article for The Wall Street Journal about Google’s recent “Safari-gate” privacy settlement, stating that “using consumer-protection laws to address cyber vulnerabilities is stretching the FTC's mission,” and implying that hacking of this sort may be more criminal in nature.  You can read it here. Congress to Examine Data Sellers – NYT – Mr. Markey says he wants the Congressional investigation to further expose data broker practices, saying some had the potential to affect people’s access to education, health care, employment or economic opportunities. The Lesson of Google's Safari Hack – WSJ – Vulnerable networks invite a lot more harm than some unwanted Web ads. California beefing up privacy-protection enforcement – CNET – A new state Justice Department unit will focus on enforcing privacy protections and education. Judge dismisses privacy lawsuit against LinkedIn – Computerworld – Lawsuit accused social media company of illegally sharing browsing histories with third parties.