Senator Ron Wyden has proposed a bill that could have major consequences for tech and data companies and how they treat consumer privacy. If the bill, dubbed the “Mind Your Own Business Act of 2019,” is passed, executives could face jail time for up to 20 years and face compensation charges of up to $5 million when they violate consumer privacy legislation. To many, this bill is welcomed as consumer privacy has gone largely unregulated for far too long. The chairman of the Federal Trade Commission, Joseph Simons, said that their authority over the FTC’s $5 million settlement with Facebook came from a 100-year-old statute. I do not consider it a stretch to argue that privacy concerns 100 years ago were much different than the ones that we face today. I personally feel like we have had to sacrifice a lot of privacy in today’s current technological climate. If you want to use a phone app, it is not uncommon to have to give apparently unchecked access to your camera, microphone, GPS system, storage access, etc. I understand in certain cases why they need some of these things, but it also often seems obvious that they are misusing this data.
In September, over 50 of the United States’ largest companies – including Walmart, AT&T, Amazon, Dell, etc. – signed a letter asking Congress to pass privacy legislation on the federal level. Critics of the letter are saying that it was a disingenuous attempt to undercut state level progress on privacy legislation. In January, California’s Consumer Privacy Act will go into effect, which will have a major impact, as California is home to may of these tech and data companies. The companies that signed on to the letter to Congress most likely won’t be happy with the federal privacy bill either, as it does not prevent state’s from passing stricter legislation with concern to privacy.
To me this seems like great progress when it comes to putting big tech in check, and I hope that the bill is able to get passed. As we talked about in class, tech has had an interesting relationship with politicians in the past. Now politicians are distancing themselves from these companies and it seems like we might get some long overdue legislation on technology. The results of this relationship will be interesting to see, as it will likely benefit consumer rights but also change technological progress in various ways.