Should Tech CEOs Go to Jail Over Data Misuse? Some Senators Say Yes

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

As Mark Zuckerberg testified about all things Facebook on the House side of the Capitol last week, over on the Senate side some lawmakers were debating whether CEOs like Zuckerberg should face jail time if their companies misuse people’s personal data.

“You know, my sense is that Mark Zuckerberg is not going to take American’s privacy seriously unless he and others in these positions face personal consequences,” senator Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) told WIRED in his Capitol Hill office.

And consequences are at the heart of Wyden’s recent bill, the Mind Your Own Business Act. If passed, the legislation would establish new privacy and security standards for tech companies, and give the Federal Trade Commission more power to enforce them. Lawmakers from both parties have criticized the FTC for failing to rein in big tech companies, especially after it reached a $5 billion settlement with Facebook this summer over charges of widespread privacy violations.

Wyden says the FTC fine was laughable, pointing to the company’s stock price, which didn’t see a real fluctuation. (When Facebook announced that it expected to pay anywhere between $3 and $5 billion this spring, the price actually went up.)

https://www.wired.com/story/wyden-mind-your-own-business-act/?bxid=5be9f8cb24c17c6adf0e5d24&cndid=25394153&utm_brand=biz&utm_campaign=aud-dev&utm_content=A&utm_mailing=Thematic_SuiteSheet_11042019_Teaser_DEK&utm_medium=email&utm_source=nl&utm_term=Thematic_Business

[abqtommy]

1. I'm in favor of the indictment, arrest, trial, conviction and imprisonment of anyone who misuses

their ability to shape attitudes in a negative fashion, or whoever places persons in jeopardy due to their actions or inactions. This includes the corporate leadership of Boeing and all the social/news media
and government officials. Let the kids out of their tRUMP cages and make room for the true criminals.

[Ferryboat]

2. It is only when prison

Is a real possibility, that the titans of industry will start taking privacy and other issues seriously.

[crickets]

3. Zuckerberg needs a reality check

When your company is swimming in that much dough, no fine is going to matter. It just becomes part of the budget, not even a hiccup. Put some jail time on the line, maybe Mr Z would show up for Congressional hearings a little more prepared to answer questions and propose solutions to the problems Facebook is causing. Maybe he would be a little more concerned about meaningful privacy policies that would actually be adhered to in benefit of Facebook users. He might find or at least more convincingly fake some, you know, ethics... that thing he has none of at this point.

[Initech]

6. Zuckerberg needs to answer for the horrors that he's wrought on this world.

Brexit, Trump, Erdogan, the mess in Catalan, the Yellow Jackets in France, Modi, Bolsonaro, Duterte, the list goes on and on. The rise in hate, fascism, white supremacy, racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, anti-immigrant hysteria. And on top of that the fucking Nazi party is making a comeback. And nearly all of it can be traced back to social media trolling. Zuckerberg needs to pay.

[crickets]

7. You get no argument from me.

I was horrified to read about violence in Ethiopia today, directly linked to Facebook. The government/election tampering alone is appalling. Not everything is Facebook's fault - there are other online mediums that contribute, but it is the biggest and Zuckerberg the most unrepentant, especially about elections. Something needs to be done. Hand-wringing is no longer enough.

[Initech]

8. Anti vaccination crusaders.

There was recently a study published where it said that Russia was spreading anti-vaxxer propaganda on social media sites as early as 2006. Now we have measles outbreaks everywhere. Maybe that was just a starting point.

[rockfordfile]

4. It depends on what "Misuse" was and to the degree

[RainCaster]

5. Our country needs the same privacy rules as the EU

They take privacy seriously