US Senator proposes new strict data privacy regulation

Senator Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) proposed a draft legislation that would introduce larger fines and potential jail time for CEOs of companies violating data privacy. According to CNET, The Mind Your Business Act is an update to Wyden’s Consumer Data Protection Act, which he proposed last November. According to the Verge, the bill would allow the Federal Trade Commission to establish minimum privacy and cybersecurity standards for tech companies and give the authority the power to issue fines of up to 4 percent of a company’s annual revenue for first-time offenses, similar to provisions in the EU’s GDPR. This draft legislation would also institute a federal Do Not Track requirement, giving individuals the option to opt out of data tracking from ads.