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A new Republican privacy bill could be ‘worse than no standard at all’

The Verge · Lauren Feiner · last updated

Congress is once again attempting to pass a national data privacy law. But while it would introduce new protections in some states, it would weaken privacy rights in others — and it’s missing several elements that privacy advocates deem necessary.

The SECURE Data Act is the product of a Republican data privacy working group led by Rep. John Joyce (R-PA), who introduced the bill alongside House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Brett Guthrie (R-KY). The proposal would require companies to collect only the user data they really need to perform the tasks they promise, let users see what information websites have on them and request its delet …

 

Related Knowledge Center: Digital privacy and data security

State of Play

If you’re online, you’re generating a constant stream of information about yourself — sometimes voluntarily, sometimes unwittingly — that is assembled and used to craft your online experience. And generate wealth for data brokers. Meanwhile, designers and managers of the digital infrastructure on which the world depends are engaged in a never-ending effort to thwart attempts, by both criminal enterprises and state actors, to exploit vulnerabilities in those systems.   

Signalgate | State surveillance


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