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US Senator from Missouri May Cause Serious Problems AlphabetGoogle (GOOGL) and Facebook (FB) as federal data privacy legislation gains traction, a regulatory analyst said Wednesday.
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Senator Josh Hawley, R-Mo., Criticized Google in a hearing before the US Senate, which led Paul Gallant, an analyst at Cowen & Co., to read.
"The hearing resulted in a star of the group – Republican rookie Josh Hawley of Missouri," said Gallant in a report to his clients. "He has attracted rare bipartisan praise after his interrogation and could now be a key driver of legislation."
Hawley aggressively cross-examined a Google witness on whereabouts and other issues, Gallant added. Prior to his election to the Senate, Mr. Hawley opened Google's antitrust and privacy investigations last year as the Missouri Attorney General.
Europe and California top the data confidentiality
Google and Facebook, the dominant duo in digital advertising, have the most to lose if Congress passes a law on the protection of consumer privacy. Google and Facebook have prospered by following users' online and mobile activities to offer personalized ads.
A bill proposed by the Senate would require Google and Facebook to identify children aged 15 and under based on their Web activities. It would prohibit any targeted advertising to children under 15 years of age.
Europe started to implement its general data protection regulation in May. California passed its own Consumer Privacy Act last year. California's privacy rules only come into force in 2020.
Some Internet companies and broadband service providers support federal consumer privacy legislation because it could replace state regulation. Twenty-five states are currently considering their own privacy legislation, Gallant said.
He estimates that there is only a 35% chance that Congress will pass a new law on the protection of consumer privacy.
The Google share edged up 0.2% to close at 1,199.06 today. Facebook's stock rose 0.8% to 173.37.
Follow Reinhardt Krause on Twitter @reinhardtk_tech
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