Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., has reintroduced three pieces of legislation focused on strengthening data privacy protections for Americans’ personal information, and tasking the Federal government with research work to improve online data privacy for consumers.
“The U.S. currently has no comprehensive data privacy laws and with the rise of AI and other technologies, consumers are vulnerable to fraud, security breaches, and predatory behavior online,” the senator’s office said.
“Big technology companies are collecting massive amounts of Americans’ personal information, from social security numbers to health care data. It’s clear we need stronger privacy laws to make sure this information isn’t shared or sold without consumers’ permission,” said Sen. Cortez Masto.
The first piece of legislation – the DATA Privacy Act – would protect consumer data by requiring adherence to three standards for data collection, processing, storage, and disclosure.
The first is a reasonableness standard stating that data collection “must be for a legitimate business or operational purpose that is contextual and does not subject an individual to unreasonable privacy risk.” The second standard covers equitable use and says “data must not be used in a discriminatory way, such as targeting job opportunities based on race or age.” The third says that businesses cannot engage in deceptive data practices.
The legislation would empower state attorneys general and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to levy civil penalties for violations. It also would require businesses to provide an “easily-accessible opt-out” for personal data collection, and would “require companies collecting large amounts of personal data to follow data protection standards and to appoint a Privacy Protection Officer,” the senator’s office said.
The second piece of legislation – the Promoting Digital Privacy Technologies Act – would task the National Science Foundation with supporting research into “privacy enhancing technologies” for personal consumer data. It also would require the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) “to work with academic, public, and private sectors to establish standards for the integration of PET into business and government,” the senator’s office said.
The final piece of legislation is the Internet ID Act, which would require website and mobile app operators to disclose if the applications being used by consumers have been developed or store data within China, or are under the control of the Chinese Communist Party.
