On Tuesday, Democratic senators unveiled a new online privacy bill, the Consumer Online Privacy Rights Act (COPRA), that could seriously strengthen protections for digital consumers. Sen. Maria Cantwell of Washington state compared the proposed legislation’s purpose to “Miranda rights” for our digital existence. While online privacy (and how much power Big Tech should have) is certainly not a new topic in the Senate or the House, bipartisan efforts to reach agreement on the subject haven’t been successful. Cantwell, who sits on the Senate Commerce Committee, hopes to establish important protections with her proposed bill.
“You have to start saying these aspects of your life belong to you, and you have the right to decide how they’re used,” Cantwell told The Washington Post.
The bill would offer internet users the opportunity to request their sensitive personal information from companies that have collected it. They would then have the right to ask for that data to be corrected or outright deleted. Companies would not be allowed to collect more information than they actually need. If they did, they would face large fines and penalties.