Congressional oversight body recommends privacy laws similar to PEMD

As the office mentioned in its report, the FTC is already responsible for Internet privacy cases. But because its power is quite limited, it has been able to close only 101 cases in the last decade, and almost all have resulted in settlements. A set of GDPR rules would give the agency more power, for example the right to impose penalties if necessary.

The GAO report has extensively cited the Cambridge Analytica scandal of Facebook as a prime example of the need for a federal privacy law on the Internet. He also cited a handful of other privacy issues that have become much more prominent in recent years as a result of searches done by the agency. One of these is the growing popularity of the devices of the Internet of Things, which increases the risk of security breaches and confidentiality. Another concern is that car manufacturers do not always specify their data sharing practices, which could become a huge problem for the growing number of connected cars.

The GAO also pointed out that there was no general law governing the collection and sale of personal information by companies. Finally, he mentioned one of his old reports, according to which people usually have no idea how their location data is shared and used by third parties. If you remember, a Motherboard A report recently learned that some major US carriers are selling real-time location data to other companies, making it easier for bounty hunters and anyone looking for the person of their choice. The introduction of rules to solve the last two problems could defeat this practice.

The agency wrote in conclusion:

"Recent developments in Internet privacy suggest that Congress has time to consider comprehensive privacy legislation on the Internet … comprehensive Internet privacy legislation that sets specific standards and includes ABS notification and commentary rules and a first offense could help strengthen the federal government's ability to protect the privacy of consumers, to bring more certainty to the market as companies innovate and develop new products at the same time. Consumers, and better guarantee consumers that their privacy will be protected. "

according to ZDNet, the House Energy and Trade Committee scheduled a hearing on February 26 to discuss these findings. This session will also discuss the possibility of developing legislation similar to the GDPR in the United States.