आईसीटी समाचार
After a Reuters article published Friday exposed how Amazon.com Inc spearheaded an under-the-radar campaign to weaken privacy safeguards in 25 states while gathering a rich collection of personal data on American consumers, five members of Congress called for nationwide consumer-privacy legislation. "Amazon has initiated a campaign to destroy privacy legislation while their gadgets listen to and monitor our lives," Connecticut Democrat Senator Richard Blumenthal, who has been involved in bipartisan discussions on privacy legislation, said on Twitter on Friday. "This is now the standard Big Tech move: spend money and hire legions of lobbyists to block serious reforms in the shadows while claiming popular support."
He argued that the findings highlighted the need for bipartisan action on better privacy laws. Because members of Congress have been stuck on the topic for years, no substantial federal privacy legislation has passed. Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon, who has introduced several privacy bills in recent years, said in a statement that the Reuters story demonstrated how companies like Amazon are "spending millions to weaken state laws," and that he hopes Congress will water down federal legislation "until it's worthless." "Congress must correct Amazon's mistake and adopt legislation that finally prohibits large businesses from misusing and exploiting our personal data," Wyden added. When asked for response, Amazon avoided explicitly addressing legislators' allegations of its anti-privacy lobbying effort.
The business echoed its earlier Reuters comment, stating that it favours federal privacy law over a "patchywork" of state standards. The company seeks a single nationwide privacy legislation that "requires openness about data practices, restricts the selling of personal data without agreement, and assures that customers have the right to view and delete their personal information," according to the corporation. The Reuters disclosures reveal how Amazon is seeking to thwart consumer privacy laws while "claiming to support" such measures, according to US Representative Jan Schakowsky, an Illinois Democrat who leads a crucial House consumer protection subcommittee that deals with privacy problems. "What they mean is that they favor privacy laws that preserves their profits and their ability to mine customers' data, including voice recordings and face scans," she explained.
"Neither Congress nor we are intimidated," says the author. US Senator Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee and US Representative Suzan DelBene of Washington state, both of whom represent areas with substantial Amazon presences, agreed that Reuters' results demonstrated the necessity for federal intervention to safeguard consumers. "Whether major internet firms like it or not, Congress will safeguard customers' privacy to prevent them from stealing Americans' personal information," Blackburn said in a statement.
