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Senate bill would require clearly worded terms for online data privacy
Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and John Kennedy (R-LA) have introduced a new bill aimed at protecting consumers' online data privacy. They announced plans for such a bill earlier this month after Mark Zuckerberg testified before Congress. "Every day companies profit off of the data they're collecting from Americans, yet leave consumers completely in the dark about how their personal information, online behavior, and private messages are being used," Senator Klobuchar said in a statement. "Consumers should have the right to control their personal data and that means allowing them to opt out of having their data collected and tracked and alerting them within 72 hours when a privacy violation occurs and their personal information may be compromised. The digital space can't keep operating like the Wild West at the expense of our privacy."
Senators plan privacy legislation following Zuckerberg hearings
Following Mark Zuckerberg's hearings earlier this week, two Senators have announced legislation they plan to introduce regarding the protection of consumers' online data, 9to5Mac reports. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and John Kennedy (R-LA) will propose regulations that would increase transparency, give consumers more control after their data has been breached and make sure companies like Facebook are working within privacy policies that protect consumers and their data. "The data breach at Facebook showed the world that the digital promised land is not all milk and honey. We've discovered some impurities in the punch bowl," Senator Kennedy said in a statement. "I don't want to regulate Facebook half to death, but there are things that need to be changed. Our bill will help protect Americans' online data fingerprint."
Bipartisan bill to re-legalize cellphone unlocking introduced in Senate
We should have known that it wouldn't take long for someone in congress to take up the fight to re-legalize cellphone unlocking. Those championing the effort on the floor of the Senate are Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) , Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Mike Lee (R-UT) who introduced the Wireless Consumer Choice Act this afternoon. After the Librarian of Congress declared that unlocking a cellphone violated copyright law under the DMCA (that's Digital Millennium Copyright Act) activists kicked into high gear in an attempt to prevent or reverse the decision. Consumer advocates quickly collected 100,000 signatures on a petition, forcing the White House to take a position on the matter. To the relief of many, including the globe trotters and ROM fanatics here at Engadget, President Obama backed our right to circumvent carrier locks -- within reason, of course. This is after FCC chairman Julius Genachowski voiced concerns that the ban could hamper competition and innovation. Anna Eshoo, a Democrat from California, is pushing a similar bill in the House of representatives, but its the bipartisan senate version that seems to be garnering the most attention. In a statement Blumenthal called the legislation "common sense, crucial for protecting consumer choice and important for ensuring healthy competition in the market." Obviously this is just the beginning of a long long journey and all the sponsors can do is hope and pray their sad little scrap of paper will one day become a law. Update: It turns out that there's another bill that has been introduced in the Senate as well, penned by Oregon senator Rob Wyden.
