At the same time Facebook’s CEO is facing questions from the Senate Judiciary & Commerce committees, two senators introduced legislation focused on protecti…
At the same time Facebook’s CEO is facing questions from the Senate Judiciary & Commerce committees, two senators introduced legislation focused on protecting people from incidents like the Cambridge Analytica scandal. The Customer Online Notification for Stopping Edge-provider Network Transgressions (CONSENT) Act proposed by Senators Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) requires « edge providers » (read: Facebook and Google) to obtain opt-in consent to « use, share, or sell users’ personal information, » tell users about data collection and how the info is used, and protect it with « reasonable » measures. The full act is readable here ( PDF)
Enforcement of these rules would be up to the FTC. Senator Blumenthal said « Our privacy bill of rights is built on a simple philosophy that will return autonomy to consumers: affirmative informed consent. Consumers deserve the opportunity to opt in to services that might mine and sell their data – not to find out their personal information has been exploited years later. » According to Markey « Voluntary standards are not enough; we need rules on the books that all online companies abide by that protect Americans and ensure accountability. » While the two said they seek a bipartisan resolution, during Mark Zuckerberg’s testimony, some senators including Thom Tillis (R-NC) suggested that too much regulation could stifle competition.
