Megalith
24-bit/48kHz
- Joined
- Aug 20, 2006
- Messages
- 13,000
Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore. has cooked up a new bill called the Consumer Data Protection Act that allows consumers to opt out of systems that share their data with third parties. In order to enforce this, the legislation carries steep fines and punishments for companies that violate its rules: executives could be "fined not more than $5,000,000 or 25 percent of the largest amount of annual compensation the person received during the previous 3-year period from the covered entity, prisoned not more than 20 years, or both."
The bill seems unlikely to pass, given the extreme penalties, lobbying clout of big businesses, and Republicans' control of Congress. But both Republicans and Democrats have been pushing for some kind of privacy law, and Wyden's proposal would make big fines and prison sentences part of the discussion. Wyden's announcement said his bill is supported by Consumers Union, search engine operator DuckDuckGo, and four former FTC chief technologists.
The bill seems unlikely to pass, given the extreme penalties, lobbying clout of big businesses, and Republicans' control of Congress. But both Republicans and Democrats have been pushing for some kind of privacy law, and Wyden's proposal would make big fines and prison sentences part of the discussion. Wyden's announcement said his bill is supported by Consumers Union, search engine operator DuckDuckGo, and four former FTC chief technologists.