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Following Facebook hearings, two senators will introduce online privacy bill

While investors may have been satisfied by the testimony given to Congress by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, not everyone was. Two senators – one Democrat, one Republican – plan to introduce a bipartisan bill to protect online privacy …

The bill will have seven main components.

  • Give consumers the right to opt-out and keep their information private by disabling data tracking and collection
  • Provide users greater access to and control over their data
  • Require terms of service agreements to be in plain language
  • Ensure users have the ability to see what information about them has already been collected and shared
  • Mandate that users be notified of a breach of their information within 72 hours
  • Offer remedies for users when a breach occurs
  • Require that online platforms have a privacy program in place

The bill is being sponsored by Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and John Kennedy (R-LA).

Senator Klobuchar said. “Consumers have the right to know if their personal information is being sold and they have the right to easily see what data has already been sold or distributed. And most importantly, consumers should have the right to keep their information private, be alerted when a data breach has occurred, and be informed of the remedies available to them when their personal information is compromised. The digital space can’t keep operating like the Wild Wild West at the expense of our privacy.”

Senator Kennedy said: “The data breach at Facebook showed the world that the digital promised land is not all milk and honey. We’ve discovered some impurities in the punch bow. I don’t want to regulate Facebook half to death, but there are things that need to be changed. Our bill will help protect Americans’ online data fingerprint.”

Klobuchar also co-introduced the Honest Ads Act, which would ensure that political ads sold online are covered by the same rules as ads sold on TV, radio, and satellite. This includes full disclosure of who purchased and paid for the ad.

Photo: Wikimedia/David Maiolo


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Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Ben Lovejoy

Ben Lovejoy is a British technology writer and EU Editor for 9to5Mac. He’s known for his op-eds and diary pieces, exploring his experience of Apple products over time, for a more rounded review. He also writes fiction, with two technothriller novels, a couple of SF shorts and a rom-com!


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