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New York, Los Angeles, Other Major Cities Are New Privacy Cops
Major U.S. cities are becoming hotbeds for privacy enforcement. Los Angeles’ recent lawsuit against IBM Corp. and its Weather Channel app for allegedly mining users’ location data without their consent highlights a growing list of cities that have sued some of the biggest tech companies in the nation for violating municipal and state privacy laws.…
Rubio debuts alternative privacy bill
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) will introduce a privacy bill Wednesday tasking the Federal Trade Commission with recommending, and Congress with finalizing, national rules for companies like Google and Facebook. Why it matters: Rubio’s bill seems to steer clear of giving the FTC wide new authority, instead only letting the agency write rules itself if Congress fails…
Warning: “GDPR Extortion” Could Hurt Your Business, Here’s What to Do!
Most US-based business leaders are at least somewhat familiar with the GDPR (EU General Data Protection Regulation.) Although this broad set of data regulations is designed to protect the privacy of citizens in the European Union, it will significantly affect US businesses as well. It will also likely lead to a new and costly cybercrime: “GDPR extortion.”…
Congress needs to address consumer data privacy in a responsible and modern manner
In today’s post-industrial economy, you are the product. Data detailing your every move is why 34-year old Mark Zuckerberg is worth $54 billion, and Google co-founder Larry Page is worth $50 billion. Your data is incredibly valuable, and for the most part, it is not even yours. But use of your personal data is governed…
Small businesses need digital tech and data
Digital technology and digital business tools are increasingly powering today’s small businesses. In Virginia, small businesses employ more than 1.5 million people. Many, like the business I started two months ago, use digital technologies to make a “traditional” small business more efficient, easier to manage and more successful. Now we are hoping government regulation of…
Consider the Harms of Digital-Tech Regulations
Digital technology and digital business tools are helping entrepreneurs succeed in ways that were unthinkable when I joined the corporate world 20 years ago. Today millions of small-business owners – including me – rely on digital platforms to build storefronts, market products and services, transact business, and secure financial data. But many are growing nervous,…
Christopher Minott: Protect small businesses from overly aggressive tech policy
Editor’s note: This commentary is by Christopher Minott, who is the director of marketing at SBBNet, a small business with an office in Burlington. SBBNet is a member of the Connected Commerce Council (3C), a nonprofit membership organization that promotes small businesses’ access to essential digital technologies and tools. Small businesses employ 60 percent of Vermont’s workforce,…
Small Businesses Need Digital Support, Not More Bureaucracy
It is well-known that Massachusetts is home to some of the most innovative technology firms in the country. Our state’s pro-innovation, pro-entrepreneur environment has been carefully crafted and protected through public policy, enviable access to private investment, and arguably the strongest tech talent pipeline in the country. Though proposals for stricter oversight of technology firms…
Advocates push to beef up privacy regulator
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is under pressure after recent privacy scandals as critics question if the agency has the regulatory teeth to oversee the tech industry’s customer data policies. The new scrutiny also comes with Congress mulling federal privacy legislation. Many privacy and consumer watchdogs say beefing up the agency’s powers and resources to…
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