November 13, 2018
Earlier this month, a federal privacy law bill was introduced in the Senate by Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), entitled the “Consumer Data Protection Act” (“CDPA”). The proposed law would create new protections for consumers’ personal information and provide the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) with significant authority to police companies that collect and share sizeable amounts of consumer data. In fact, if signed into law, the CDPA will arm the FTC with the ability to issue harsh financial penalties, as well as criminal jail time for senior executives who fail to follow the guidelines for data use. Proposed federal privacy legislation is not surprising given recent data breaches from well-known companies, such as Equifax, Facebook, Uber, and Yahoo!. In fact, a study from the Pew Research Center suggests that half of all Americans believe that their personal information is less secure now than it was five years ago.
What does the proposed data privacy law cover? [Read More]
