Wyden Draft Consumer Data Privacy Bill Seeks 'Steep' FTC Fines

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore.'s draft data privacy bill would allow the FTC to issue “steep fines” for first-time offenders and levy 10-to-20-year criminal penalties for senior executives. Fines would be up to 4 percent of annual revenue. The Consumer Data Protection Act calls for the FTC to set “minimum privacy and cybersecurity standards” and hire 175 to “police the largely unregulated market for private data.” About 50 monitor tech and credit industries, Wyden said Thursday. The bill, which was expected (see 1810110043), envisions a national “do not track” system that blocks third parties from tracking certain consumers online. It would let consumers review what data is collected and shared about them and require companies to assess algorithm fairness.