Social Media Privacy and Consumer Rights Act introduced into Senate

Senators John Kennedy (R-LA) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) introduced the Social Media Privacy and Consumer Rights Act of 2018 into the US Senate today.

The press release issued by the Senators identifies a number of aspects of the legislation, including:

– Requirement for plain language in terms of service agreements;
– The right to access for information collected and shared;
– The right to opt out and disable data tracking and collection;
– Mandatory user notification of privacy violations within 72 hours; and
– Requires online platforms to have a privacy program.

Other highlights from the text of the bill:

– It applies to public facing websites, apps, search engines, email services, ad networks, Internet access providers and social networks that collect data.

– Personal data is defined as individually identifiable information collected online including, among other things, physical address, email address, telephone number, Social Security number, geolocation information, message contents, protected health information and personally identifiable financial information.

– Privacy notices must occur before user creates an account or otherwise begins to use. It must be easily accessible, of reasonable length, clear/concise/well-organized, and clearly distinguishable from other matters.

– The covered parties will need to conduct a privacy or security program audits every two years.

It is the second piece of privacy legislation that has been introduced into the US Senate since the Cambridge Analytica news broke. Earlier this month, on the same day as the Senate hearing with Mark Zuckerberg, Democratic Senators Ed Markey and Richard Blumenthal introduced into the Senate the Customer Online Notification for Stopping Edge-provider Network Transgressions (known as the CONSENT Act). The BROWSER Act is also being considered by the U.S. House of Representatives.

More from Clarip:

Are you ready for the new CA privacy law? Start preparing compliance efforts with Clarip for the California Consumer Privacy Act. Enforcement starts January 1, 2020 so better start planning funding in your 2019 budget now.

Other Blog Posts on Privacy Bills in the US Senate:

American Data Dissemination Act – Senator Marco Rubio.
Data Care Act – 15 Senate Democrats led by Senator Schatz
Consumer Data Protection Act – Draft by Senator Wyden
Senator Thune Privacy Bill
8 Proposals on Privacy from Draft Senate Policy Paper
Senate to Consider CONSENT Act for Enhanced Privacy Protections Online
Do Not Track Kids Act Back in Congress