Sen. Ron Wyden Proposes Bill That Could Jail Leaders Who Mishandle Consumer Data

Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) today released a bill that would create much stricter guidelines for the misuse of consumer data. Among other things, the bill suggests creating a sentence of 10 to 20 years for senior executives who do not comply with the new rules on the use of data.

The information technology industry has been under scrutiny over the past two years, as companies such as Facebook and Google have fallen prey to scandals, including the use by Cambridge Analytica of Facebook data. Legislators have suggested new standards on the use of data, but so far no major federal legislation has been passed. Yet, Wyden suggested in an interview with The edge this year, a bill was coming.

Wyden's draft proposal, called the Consumer Data Protection Act, would give the FTC more authority and resources to control the use of data by adding a total of 175 new employees. According to the proposal, the FTC would also be allowed to impose fines on businesses of up to 4% of their income for a first offense.

The legislation would also create a centralized list of prohibited tasks designed to allow consumers to prevent companies from sharing their data with third parties or to use them for targeted advertising purposes. Instead, the legislation would allow companies to block users who opt out and offer a paid version of the service instead of follow-up. Consumers could also ask to review and challenge the information collected about them.

Companies generating more than $ 1 billion in revenue and processing information on more than one million people, or small businesses managing more than 50 million people, would also be required to submit reports to the FTC describing possible breaches of confidentiality. Failure to do so could result in a term of imprisonment.

Although technology industry leaders, including Mark Zuckerberg, have hinted that they are open to some sort of regulation, it is likely that they would attack the proposal. Until now, some states have taken the problem in hand: Earlier this year, California passed one of the most stringent data privacy laws in the country despite objections from the government. 39; industry.

"It's time to take some sun on this shady network of information sharing," Wyden said in a statement. "My bill creates a radical transparency for consumers, gives them new tools to control their information, and reinforces it with strict and effective rules to punish companies that exploit the most confidential information of Americans."