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Democratic members of Congress campaign for a so-called Internet Rights Charter, which would allow consumers to always choose to participate in data collection.
Maggie Reardon / CNET
If the Democrats win the House of Representatives in November, they will insist on total protection of consumer privacy, including ensuring that you choose to participate in data collection and network neutrality.
The so-called Internet Rights Charter was drafted by Democratic Representative Ro Khanna, representing Silicon Valley. For the moment, rather than a proposed law, it is simply a list of 10 principles that, according to Khanna, will be part of a comprehensive legislative package on which a vote could take place. ;next year.
The list includes protection of internet neutrality, consumer choice for Internet service providers, greater transparency on how data is collected online and prompt notification to consumers when personal data have been accessed via hacks. Perhaps the most innovative, however, is a provision forcing consumers to sign up before online businesses can collect data about them. This is a big problem because many of the biggest tech companies, such as Facebook and Google, have business models based on monetizing this personal data through advertising.
Khanna says that something must be done to ensure the protection of consumers.
"The era of the Internet and the digital revolution have changed the way Americans live," Khanna said in a statement. "Because our lives and our economy are more Internet-related, it is essential to provide Americans with basic online protections."
The New York Times was the first to report on the Charter of Rights of the Internet.
Khanna's ideas are not really new. Many lawmakers, consumer rights advocates and technologists have been advocating for regulation that includes some, if not all, of these ideas for years. But previous attempts to pass laws offering such protections have failed. That could change, as Democrats and Republicans talk about regulating Internet privacy. Events such as the massive security breach at Equifax, Facebook's Analytica scandal and foreign interference in the elections have drawn the attention of the US public and lawmakers.
"The question is no longer whether we need a national law to protect the privacy of consumers," said Senate Trade Committee Chairman John Thune, a Republican of North Dakota. South, in an editorial last month. "The question is what form this law should take."
Pressure is also mounting at the international level and state legislatures. The EU's general data protection regulation, which came into effect in May, forces companies such as Google, Facebook and Apple to change their data collection policies. US states like California are also adopting new privacy laws to regulate how these companies collect and store customer data. Representatives from Google and Facebook have testified before Congress several times over the past year and are now more willing to work with federal lawmakers to develop a set of uniform rules.
Ms Khanna, to whom Nancy Pelosi, leader of the minority in the House of Representatives, drew up this list six months ago, said that he had spoken with several people from the technology sector, including Tim Berners Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web.
"If we want the Internet to live up to its potential as a force of good in the world, we need guarantees that guarantee fairness, transparency and human dignity" Khanna said in a statement. "This Bill of Rights sets out a set of principles designed to give users increased control over their lives online while creating a healthier Internet economy."
Even if it is possible to adopt a regulation, it is unlikely that the Bill of Rights on the Internet, as drafted, will be passed in the House, as many of the items on the list are controversial. Take, for example, Khanna's proposal to require prior consent for the collection of personal data and its provision on Internet neutrality, which gives consumers the right to access the Internet and use it to unfairly favor content, applications, services or devices. "They are likely to elicit negative reactions from the Internet and broadband industries, respectively.
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"We believe that adopting a technology and privacy law next year is a tough battle," said Paul Gallant, an analyst at Cowan. "But if Democrats show up in the House, we believe that mandatory tracking / targeting will become a topical issue for Facebook, Google, and others in 2019."
Khanna told The Washington Post on Friday that his list was only a start and that he was ready to get legislators from both sides to work on a draft law.
This is the draft of the Internet Rights Charter.
You should have the right:
1. have access to and knowledge of all the collection and use of personal data by businesses;
2. give consent to the collection of personal data by any party and the sharing of personal data with a third party;
3. depending on the context and with a fair process, obtain, correct or delete personal data controlled by any company and ensure that such requests are honored by third parties;
4. secure personal data and be informed in a timely manner when a breach of security or unauthorized access to personal data is discovered;
5. move all personal data from one network to another;
6. to access and use the Internet without the ISPs blocking, limiting, setting paid priorities or otherwise unfairly promoting content, applications, services or devices;
7. Internet service without the collection of data that is not necessary to provide the requested service without prior consent;
8. to have access to multiple viable, affordable and viable Internet platforms, services and providers with clear and transparent pricing;
9. not to be discriminated against or unfairly exploited on the basis of your personal data; and
10. to ensure that an entity that collects your personal data applies reasonable business practices and liability to protect your privacy.
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