OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 11:32 AM PT — Wednesday, January 16, 2019
A new privacy bill is being considered in the Senate to regulate big tech giants like Google and Facebook as part of an effort to protect the personal data of users.
Republican Senator Marco Rubio introduced the legislation Wednesday, which would task the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) with recommending national rules to Congress for big tech corporations
Once the FTC provides its recommendations, Congress would then be responsible for finalizing those rules by passing legislation. If the FTC guidelines are not approved by Congress within two-years, then the agency would be able to write its own rules.
In this file photo, Sen. Marco Rubio speaks in National Harbor, Md. (Carolyn Kaster/AP Photo)
Senator Rubio has warned about what he has called the “weaponization of information” online, and has stressed the need for regulation.
“Lets begin with the fact you are an individual and you’re up for a job or someone is unhappy with you, and someone who wants to cost you the job, or opportunity, or wants revenge finds a way to post a video of you doing or saying something you never said,” explained the Republican senator.
Under the proposal, any new FTC rules created as a result of the bill would preempt certain state privacy regulations. The move would fulfill a major request from tech industry groups.
