Sens. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and John Kennedy, R-La., reintroduced the Social Media Privacy and Consumer Rights Act on Thursday, which would strengthen privacy notices and breach disclosure requirements for online platforms.
The bill would require online platforms to provide notification of data collection, report breaches to affected individuals within 72 hours, and allow users to see the information collected on them. The bill would also require the terms of service to be in clear language, and require online platforms to have privacy programs in place.
While Klobuchar and Kennedy introduced the bill in March 2018, the bill failed to progress out of committee.
“Every day, companies profit off of the data they’re collecting from Americans, yet leave consumers completely in the dark about how their personal information, online behavior, and private messages are being used. Consumers should have the right to control their personal data,” said Klobuchar in a statement.
“In today’s world, private data is the equivalent of our personal identities, and companies need to know that they’ll be held accountable when they violate the public’s trust and compromise our private information. Our legislation does just that,” said Kennedy.