Photo Courtesy of Sen. Gillibrand’s Office
“As the data privacy crisis looms larger over the everyday lives of Americans, the government has a responsibility to step forward and give Americans meaningful protection over their data and how it’s being used,” Sen. Gillibrand said.
By Forum Staff
The Data Protection Act would create the Data Protection Agency, an independent federal department that would protect Americans’ data, safeguard their privacy, and ensure data practices are fair and transparent, U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) said Thursday as she introduced the measure.
According to Gillibrand, the DPA will have the authority and resources to effectively enforce data protection rules—created either by itself or congress—and would be equipped with a broad range of enforcement tools, including civil penalties, injunctive relief, and equitable remedies. The DPA would promote data protection and privacy innovation across public and private sectors, developing and providing resources such as Privacy Enhancing Technologies that minimize or even eliminate the collection of personal data.
As New York’s junior senator noted, in recent years, major data breaches have occurred at banks, credit rating agencies and tech firms. In 2017, Equifax failed to safeguard the sensitive credit data of hundreds of millions of Americans, allowing a foreign government to steal and expose this information. In 2018, Facebook exposed the personal information of nearly 50 million users because it reportedly ignored warnings from its own employees about a dangerous loophole in its security. Additionally, the Federal Trade Commission has failed to enforce its own orders and has failed to act on dozens of detailed consumer privacy complaints alleging unfair practices concerning data collection, marketing to children, cross-device tracking, consumer profiling, user tracking, discriminatory business practices, and data disclosure to third-parties.
The Data Protection Agency will also address what Gillibrand called “a growing data privacy crisis in America.” Massive amounts of personal information—public profiles, health data, photos, past purchases, locations, search histories, and much more—is being collected, processed, and in some cases, exploited by private companies and foreign adversaries. In some instances, the data was not given willingly, and in many others, consumers had little idea what they were signing up for. As a result, the data of everyday Americans is being parsed, split, and sold to the highest bidder, and there is little anyone—including the federal government—can do about it.
“Technology is connecting us in new significant ways, and our society must be equipped for both the challenges and opportunities of a transition to the digital age. As the data privacy crisis looms larger over the everyday lives of Americans, the government has a responsibility to step forward and give Americans meaningful protection over their data and how it’s being used,” said Senator Gillibrand. “Data has been called ‘the new oil.’ Companies are rushing to explore and refine it, ignoring regulations, putting profits above responsibility, and treating consumers as little more than dollar signs. Like the oil boom, little thought is being given to the long-term consequences. The U.S. needs a new approach to privacy and data protection. We cannot allow our freedoms to be trampled over by private companies that value profits over people, and the Data Protection Agency would do that with expertise and resources to create and meaningfully enforce data protection rules and digital rights.”
The U.S. is one of the only democracies, and the only member of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, without a federal data protection agency.
