Sen. Gillibrand: Pass The Data Protection Act
By Senator Kirsten Gillibrand
Every time we browse the internet or open an app, we are creating piles of data about what sites we visit, what products we buy or look at, and much more. For years, we’ve been losing control over our personal information as companies build major empires from our data. And over the last year and half, as we spent more time at home, we started living more and more of our lives online — increasing our exposure to risk.
As a mom, I worry about the access that apps like Facebook and TikTok could have to my sons’ data. And as a senator, I worry about the fact that the average consumer has no means to hold any of these tech giants accountable. New polling from Data for Progress finds that the majority of Americans share those worries.
Your data should be kept private. If a company can use data on you to determine your income or credit score and can sell it to a third party, the implications are innumerable and could be devastating. You could start being targeted with ads for predatory payday lenders, or your information could be sold to be used against you when trying to buy a house or get a car loan. That type of discrimination is already happening.
Your data should also be protected. We have seen personal data weaponized by firms like Cambridge Analytica or Clearview AI's facial recognition software and used to cause collective harm that erodes civil rights and threatens democracy. And in the last few years we’ve also seen major breaches and ransomware attacks at companies like Equifax, Marriott, and Yahoo expose tens of millions of Americans’ sensitive data. Right now, the consequences companies face for those breaches are too low to incentivize action. That leaves your data vulnerable to bad actors who want to use it to target you with robocalls and other scams.
Given the current landscape, it’s not surprising that more than three in four Americans are worried about the way big tech companies collect and sell their personal data; their passwords and social media accounts being breached; their personal data like health records being destroyed or held for ransom; and our critical national infrastructure like hospitals and energy grids being compromised by hackers.
While technology companies must step up to protect their users, that is not enough. When it comes to your privacy, we must have a better approach than one that allows companies to “move fast and break things.” Data for Progress polling found that more than 7 in 10 Americans — consistent across Democrats, Republicans and Independents — believe that current laws and practices are out-of-date and require significant improvement to better protect our data and ensure responsible data collection. They’re right.
Again, more than 7 in 10 Americans think the government should be doing more to keep their personal data safe. That includes nearly 2 in 3 Republicans. This type of consensus is a clear call to action.
I believe the best way to do that is by creating a new federal agency designed with your data privacy in mind: the Data Protection Agency. This agency would be dedicated to creating and standardizing a regulatory framework aimed at protecting Americans’ data privacy. It would provide a simple and elegant solution to a series of complex problems. This agency would be built to safeguard individual privacy and to look out for Americans in a way no other agency does or can. And nearly 8 in 10 Americans support its creation.
Our government must continue to evolve alongside our society, and adapt to meet new challenges the American people face.
In the early 1900s, when our food supply chain was industrialized, people no longer only purchased food from local suppliers they knew and trusted. Since it was no longer possible for consumers to trace how their food was being harvested or stored; how many times it was bought or sold; or even if it was safe, Congress took action. The government stepped in and created the agency now known as the Food and Drug Administration to provide that necessary oversight.
In 1970, when rampant corporate pollution put the air we breathe and water we drink at risk, Congress worked with President Nixon to establish the Environmental Protection Agency.
And in 2010, after risky financial practices led to the Great Recession and severe financial hardship for families across the country, Congress created the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
In the face of these new threats to our personal information, we must now equip the government to protect your right to privacy in this new digital landscape. We must pass The Data Protection Act of 2021, create the Data Protection Agency and bring the protection of your privacy and freedom into the digital age.
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (@SenGillibrand) is the junior Senator from New York.