But Royal Mail said he did not fit the bill for the collection as a stand-up comedian and had been rejected by the selection panel.

BBC: Comic genius is licked

The bill also called for the data-collection industry to develop a policing program that would be approved by the Federal Trade Commission.

FORBES: WSJ Editor Preempts Pulitzers: We Aready Won 'the Greatest Prize'

Meanwhile, privacy advocates argue that the bill's exemption for "operational" collection of data--allowing those practices to take place under an "opt-out" rule--gives advertisers far too much leeway.

FORBES