Facebook controversies could spark support for privacy bills in Congress

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Legislation to rein in Facebook’s practices — and even stiff penalties from the Federal Trade Commission — are starting to look like a real possibility, even in a Congress typically slow to move on tech issues.  Lawmakers are pointing to two main vehicles emerging in Congress.  One is the Consent Act, a bill sponsored by Sen Ed Markey (D-MA) that would require Facebook and other tech companies such as Google to get explicit permission from users before doing anything with their personal information. It would also require those companies to notify users about all collection, use and sharing of their data. The second bill,  the Social Media Privacy and Consumer Rights Act, introduced by Sens Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and John Neely Kennedy (R-LA), proposes similar rules allowing users to opt out of data collection. Additionally, it would allow users to prevent companies from tracking their data, require privacy policies to be written in "plain language" and guarantee users the ability to see what companies have already collected on them. The FTC — which is already investigating Facebook's data practices — also has options. Facebook is bound by a 2011 consent decree with the agency over a different privacy matter to be more transparent about the data it collects about its users. 


Facebook controversies could spark support for privacy bills in Congress