Congress is on the verge of passing a major federal data privacy law that will finally put some guardrails on what information companies can gather from Americans and how they can use it. But the lucrative industry that has arisen around the monetization of such data has launched a lobbying blitz attempting to water down the legislation. They must not succeed.
Americans’ online footprints today contain a vast array of personal and financial information, much of which can be mined by internet service providers, credit-rating bureaus, third-party companies selling goods or services and others that operate mostly out of sight from the average internet user. The technology that makes both mass and personalized data collection possible has advanced far faster than regulatory standards, allowing both legitimate and shady entities to operate in a Wild West atmosphere. The implications for consumers range from the annoyance of targeted advertising to compromised financial data and even threats to personal safety (because of location apps).
The American Data Privacy and Protection Act would replace the patchwork of state data privacy laws with one national standard that would govern how companies can gather and use personal data, and what consumers can do to protect themselves. It’s the same concept in use in the European Union, and all indications suggest that it works.
