Wyden Proposes Jail Time for Execs Who Lie to FTC About Privacy

Company executives would face possible jail time for lying to the Federal Trade Commission about privacy and data security matters, under a new bill by Oregon Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden.

The Mind Your Own Business Act would give the FTC new authorities and resources to police privacy. It would allow the FTC to issue fines for first-time privacy violators of up to 4% of annual revenue, similar to a potential penalty under the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation.

“Consumers must be able to control their own private information, companies must provide vastly more transparency about how they use and ...