A New Senate Bill Would Create a US Data Protection Agency (techcrunch.com) 62
Europe's data protection laws are some of the strictest in the world, and have long been a thorn in the side of the data-guzzling Silicon Valley tech giants since they colonized vast swathes of the internet. Two decades later, one Democratic senator wants to bring many of those concepts to the United States. From a report: Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) has published a bill which, if passed, would create a U.S. federal data protection agency designed to protect the privacy of Americans and with the authority to enforce data practices across the country. The bill, which Gillibrand calls the Data Protection Act, will address a "growing data privacy crisis" in the U.S., the senator said. The U.S. is one of only a few countries without a data protection law (along with Venezuela, Libya, Sudan and Syria). Gillibrand said the U.S. is "vastly behind" other countries on data protection. Gillibrand said a new data protection agency would "create and meaningfully enforce" data protection and privacy rights federally. "The data privacy space remains a complete and total Wild West, and that is a huge problem," the senator said.
Keyword: Enforce (Score:3, Insightful)
Because that's what a Big Government bureaucracy does. It's sole function will be to punish people and businesses that it deems to be out of compliance in the form of fines and regulatory fees.
Re:Keyword: Enforce (Score:5, Insightful)
Re: (Score:2)
And so we have the issue - are these abuses, real or imagined (it really doesn't matter), and if so, is there no other governing law that could be invoked to deal with these abuses?
I'm really asking if a new bureaucracy is needed.
Re: Keyword: Enforce (Score:2)
I've always been partial to "law-talking guys"
Re:Keyword: Enforce (Score:5, Insightful)
Re: (Score:2)
Breach yes. But my example of corporate crime, not a breach of anything but laws and trust. Though what happened there, if that doesn't result in jail time, nothing white-collar will.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Did anyone go to jail over Equifax breach? It doesn't get more egregious than that.
No, but they got a REALLY FIRM looking-at that put them in their place. Same thing.
Re: (Score:2)
Not to be cynical, but corporations may be lobbying for a Data Protection organization that will work like the FCC has for telcos and cable companies lately.
I would be happier if there were some law(s) that said "Companies can only capture the minimum amount of data needed to perform the primary function of any device or service. Companies cannot retain captured data any longer than the minimum time necessary to perform the primary function of any device or service. Companies cannot share any captured d
Re: (Score:2)
Much easier to have an agency like the FCC that can be jerked around instead of those pesky laws.
Re: Keyword: Enforce (Score:2)
Re: (Score:1)
FBI? DEA? CIA? GCHQ? Looking past average US data security settings on some cloud, server, network?
They need that network to be open in real time...
Who wants a new US data security expert walking in and telling a random company to be more "secure"?
The data flow stops and a new powerful code is in place to keep out Russia, Communist China, France, the UK, Germany...NATO
Big Government bureaucracy like US security set to plain text and on a fast network...
If
Re: (Score:2)
It has to protect the financial privacy of US corporations from the data mining capability of the tech giants to block insider trading of the targeted companies by the tech giants, with trading done by offshore hedge funds. Using data mining to gain access to private company data and results, just as fast as the company itself can and long before the data is released to the general investor public, financial espionage to facilitate insider trading. The law should have already been in place but that still do
Not going to happen (Score:5, Insightful)
Facebook and Google are going to get on the phone today and remind all of the lawmakers they've purchased who is paying for their cars, houses and watercraft. This won't go very far at all.
The EU was able to get away with this because they don't have powerful, well-funded companies whose entire business model is to collect and use customer data as payment for "free" services.
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Not going to happen (Score:4, Insightful)
Right. Europe also has less of a lobbying problem as in general campaigns use public funds and afaik private contributions are illegal.
Re: (Score:2)
Great! more government employees (Score:2, Insightful)
If you hold the bureaucracy those pesky elected officials do not matter at all.
Just my 2 cents
Last time creating government agency helped ... (Score:2)
When was the last time creating a new government agency helped anyone?
Well at the federal level ...
June 14, 1775,
October 13, 1775,
November 10, 1775,
August 4, 1790,
September 18, 1947.
Waiting to see how December 20, 2019 turns out.
Will it protect us from governments too? (Score:2, Insightful)
Federal and state governments have just as much, if not more, information on citizens such as medical and financial data.
I can choose not to do business with Facebook, Google or Verizon. I don't have that option with the IRS.
Re: (Score:2)
The EU data protection legislation does indeed protect you from any organisation, including government.
It also protects you from industry that you do not do business from; facebook, google and verizon have quite a lot of information about you trust me. Do you have an option to challenge that in the US? You do in the EU.
Re: (Score:2)
I don't have that option with the IRS.
Oooh, that's not right. You can easily choose to not do business with the IRS.
The problem is that the IRS will still choose to do business with YOU.
Re: (Score:2)
Federal and state governments have just as much, if not more, information on citizens such as medical and financial data.
I can choose not to do business with Facebook, Google or Verizon. I don't have that option with the IRS.
And you really think you have a choice in dealing with Facebook, Google, Verizon, Amazon... You might want to check on that.
In good company (Score:4, Insightful)
The U.S. is one of only a few countries without a data protection law (along with Venezuela, Libya, Sudan and Syria).
Wow, thatâ(TM)s really good company to be in...
Re:In good company (Sloppy Sloppy) (Score:2)
Pure guilt by association. No argument or evidence why the lack of data protection law is bad, or how presumably the situation in socialist or Middle-Eastern/African hellholes is analogous to the US.
Re: (Score:2)
I mostly agree with you. I don't expect control and restraint. I do demand honesty and disclosure. I know you're collecting data on me all the time, just be honest and also tell me what you're doing with it, where it's shared, and who else has it and is sharing it.
A Sisyphean task. when it goes badly, someone will be motivated to ask for redress, and then the courts get involved, and maybe something changes, or at least it gets disclosed. Since all such bureaucracy would be enforcing, we would still see abu
Democratic bill in a Republican senate... (Score:1)
Politically naive perspective ... (Score:2)
Democratic bill in a Republican senate you can imagine how far that virtue signaling will go (regardless of merit). The idea that the Republicans will permit any legislation to move ahead whose purpose is primarily to protect consumers or citizens is laughable. That it was proposed by a Democrat makes it DOA in any case.
That's a politically naive perspective. You sell the bill to Republicans the same way Democrats will sell it to each other: "These people in Silicon Valley think they can usurp our power and run things their own way, bypassing our 'authoritay'".
Predictions? (Score:4, Insightful)
A well meaning congresscritter proposes legislation to "protect" privacy
All the rest of Congress argues over months what "privacy" actually means.
Many corporations add their input to the discussion.
A new bill is drafted with nice additions like some extra money for a few states to improve the security of chicken and pig factories.
The final draft is revealed, with no definition of privacy, and sweeping reforms in copyright enforcement, extending the protections of Mickey Mouse infinitely.
Re: (Score:1)
Re: (Score:1)
The final draft is revealed, with no definition of privacy ...
That's one outcome: The more popular and easy to hide outcome is, the government refuses to allocate wages. The result is an unmanned desk with a stack of cases that no-one will ever investigate.
Re: (Score:2)
Data Breaches Privacy.
Some similar impacts, different also...
We don't need an entire new bureaucracy (Score:1)
Pick an existing agency - DOJ, FTC, LMNOP - and charge them to enforce a version of GDPR.
Law vs. Agency (Score:2)
I might be able to get behind a well-written privacy law, but do we need to spawn yet another Government agency to address this?
Republicans will block (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
And by the way, your language indicates that you're not very bright. You might want to at work on that so that you don't embarrass yourself as much.
Corporation versus Government (Score:2)
Google, Amazon, Apple, and Microsoft combined do not own a militia. At least not one with heavy artillery, a police, etc. The government on the other hand has heavy weaponry and has the ability to force me to do things. Now who would I trust to keep my data? I rather Google have it than the Government any day. Google would have to pay off the government in order to do things to me. The government on the other hand can come after me for free.
New US Data Protection Agency (Score:1)
Data Force!
Can't wait to see the shoulder patches. :-)
Democrats though (Score:1)
I say little more but the democrats aren't to be trusted either. It's quite likely the recent California
Re: (Score:2)
My illegal? Her illegal? Their illegal?
Who's illegal. Spelling. Learn it, love it, live it....
Name it... (Score:2)
Is now the right time? (Score:1)
Pointless (Score:2)
It will stall because the GOP does not want to do their job.
What a farce. (Score:1)
Of course, the last 3 agencies we created to address this task all went rogue and now operate in secret, unchecked, and largely against the will of the people... but sure, let's try it again anyway. What could possibly go wrong?
Privacy for whom? (Score:2)
Is the country list supposed to be inclusive? Data privacy laws can't possibly be uniform, and how many don't give the government access to data it didn't have before? You can bet any such law in the US would have amendments for backdoors and forcing you to unlock your phone.
How about a National Security Agency? (Score:2)
We need a national security agency that is tasked with finding holes in software, and fixing them, instead of leaving them open for exploit. Congresscritters don't seem to realized that any back doors left open will eventually get used against them, no matter how smart they think they are.
On the other hand,... looks like we might actually have secure operating systems in a few more years, thanks to the slow but steady work by the folks at the Genode project.