U.S. Sens. Jon Ossoff, D-GA, Bill Cassidy, R-LA, and Ben Ray Luján, D-NM, are sponsoring the Data Elimination and Limiting Extensive Tracking and Exchange (DELETE) Act, legislation that would allow Americans to request that data brokers delete their personal data.
The bill would direct the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to create an online tool where Americans can submit a one-time data deletion request to ALL registered data brokers that hold their personal data. The bill would also create a ‘do not track list’ to prohibit companies from harvesting this data going forward. If passed, it remains to be seen if the bill will be as effective as the infamous “Do Not Call” list – the effectiveness of which remains in doubt.
“Data brokers are buying, collecting, and reselling vast amounts of personal information about all of us without our consent. This bipartisan bill is about returning control of our personal data to us, the American people,” Ossoff said.
This data is compiled from websites, notably social media, that track websites you visit, posts you click, things you buy – in short, everything you do on the internet. For the most part, this is not in and of itself nefarious; the data is sold for marketing purposes to hyper-target demographics and show the right ads that the algorithm has determined you are most likely susceptible to in order to make a sale. Ultimately, the intense data collection can be overwhelming and the more data gets spread around, the more likelihood that some hack somewhere could expose that data to more nefarious actors.
“American should have privacy online,” said Cassidy. “Let’s give Americans a solution to ensure their personal data is not tracked, collected, bought or sold by data brokers.”
Notably, the bill does not seem to say “would require” but rather “request.” Somewhere there is some small print – likely in that section on a webpage where you “Accept All” cookies – that allows the data brokers to collect this information. The bill also notes “If the data broker permits an individual to opt out of the data broker’s collection or use of personal information,” – and then continues with some legalese that is difficult to interpret.
Later in the bill, there does seem to be more specific requirements but regardless of the effectiveness of this bill, the new system would be a start towards reining in the data farming that has been a staple of internet commerce for years. It would also establish a system of transparency with data brokers for an industry that has been less than transparent. The bill would require audits of registered data brokers every three years, putting further pressure on the companies to be open with their practices and the amount of data that is collected.
