Security News > 2020 > February > Senator Calls for Creation of Federal Online Privacy Agency

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., is proposing the creation of a new federal agency dedicated to protecting online privacy, taking that task away from the Federal Trade Commission.

In November, two Democratic members of the U.S. House, Anna Eshoo and Zoe Lofgren, proposed similar legislation, The Online Privacy Act, which would create a digital privacy agency that would have the ability to hire up to 1,600 employees and the authority to impose fines for privacy violations.

Despite the FTC's recent actions against Facebook and others, privacy rights groups such as the Electronic Privacy Information Center have criticized the commission, saying it needs to do more.

Gillibrand says the newly formed agency would work on three core missions: Giving American's control over their data, promoting data protection and privacy innovation and advising Congress and lawmakers about emerging privacy and technology issues, such as so-called "Deepfake" videos and encryption standards.

Steve Durbin, the managing director of the Information Security Forum, says one reason why the federal government needs to ramp up privacy protections is that more organizations are storing mass amounts of data in the cloud, making it tougher to ensure it's protected.

News URL

https://www.inforisktoday.com/senator-calls-for-creation-federal-online-privacy-agency-a-13723