Proposed bill would make it easier to press charges against tech execs for privacy breache...

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A new bill introduced by Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren would make it easier to bring criminal charges against corporate executives for the way they handle data breaches and privacy.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren


The Corporate Executive Accountability Act would "establish criminal liability for "negligent executive officers of major corporations, and for other purposes," according to initial wording. Only businesses with over $1 billion in annual revenue would be subject, and it would also be limited to violations affecting 1 percent or more of a state or the nation.

Executives could face a fine and/or a prison sentence up to a year for their first offense, any prison time scaling up to three years for subsequent crimes.

While not limited to data issues, the Act could easily be brought to bear against businesses like Facebook and Equifax, both of which have experienced data breaches affecting millions of U.S. residents. In an editorial published in the Washington Post on Wednesday, Warren -- who is running for President -- argued that executives too often escape punishment in cases of negligence, and that even when they're forced out of a company, they can leave with millions of dollars in exit pay.

The Senator has made tackling corporate monopolies, corruption, and wealth inequality a centerpiece of her early campaign. Most famously she's proposed breaking up the major U.S. tech platforms, including Apple, specifically suggesting that it should spin off the App Store given that first-party apps have unfair advantages. That would not be unprecendented given previous U.S. breakups of monopolies like AT&T, Microsoft, J.P. Morgan, and Standard Oil.

She also supports "right to repair" legislation, focusing on the farming industry. Apple has opposed such laws, claiming they could expose company secrets and create safety and security problems -- but has also said that they would withdraw objections if smartphones were exempt. While there are innumerable third-party Apple repair firms around the world, only Apple and its authorized service providers are able to perform full service in a way that doesn't void warranties.

At present, the company doesn't provide parts or repair manuals outside of its official network.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 25
    mac_dogmac_dog Posts: 1,069member
    I could get on board with this. The only problem is,  management is notorious for taking credit for successes and none for failures, so they’ll find  scapegoats to take the fall. 
    StrangeDaysgutengelolscornchipjony0
  • Reply 2 of 25
    gatorguygatorguy Posts: 24,176member
    Wants to address wealth inequality too? She has a lot on her plate so she better come packing a big fork and a really absorbent napkin. It'll be messy.
    edited April 2019 SpamSandwichcornchipGG1
  • Reply 3 of 25
    AppleishAppleish Posts: 687member
    Good.
    gutengelols
  • Reply 4 of 25
    crowleycrowley Posts: 10,453member
    rosse59 said:
    "We've got too many people unfairly put in jail!"
    {"Did they break the laws you passed in legislation?"}
    "Well, YES, but those laws are unfair now and we have a prison crisis!"
    {"OK, have you fixed that"?}
    "Well, NO, but now we need more laws and put more people in prison!"
    What point is it that you think you’re making? Elizabeth Warren isn’t responsible for mandatory minimums.
    StrangeDaysneo-techgutengelDoodpants
  • Reply 5 of 25
    2old4fun2old4fun Posts: 239member
    Wealth Inequality. You have more money than I do so you should give me your money that you invested your time and effort acquiring.
    beowulfschmidtlkruppcornchip
  • Reply 6 of 25
    StrangeDaysStrangeDays Posts: 12,834member
    Hey if this is what it takes to get these guys to give a damn, I'm all for it. "Accountability" right!?
    cornchip
  • Reply 7 of 25
    StrangeDaysStrangeDays Posts: 12,834member
    2old4fun said:
    Wealth Inequality. You have more money than I do so you should give me your money that you invested your time and effort acquiring.
    What are you talking about? This is a story about corporate executes not taking privacy seriously whatsoever and leaking it like a sieve. With responsibility comes accountability. 
    neo-techTickTockNikn2itivguyrandominternetpersonjony0
  • Reply 8 of 25
    gatorguygatorguy Posts: 24,176member
    2old4fun said:
    Wealth Inequality. You have more money than I do so you should give me your money that you invested your time and effort acquiring.
    What are you talking about? This is a story about corporate executes not taking privacy seriously whatsoever and leaking it like a sieve. With responsibility comes accountability. 
    From the AI article:
    "The Senator has made tackling corporate monopolies, corruption, and wealth inequality a centerpiece of her early campaign."
  • Reply 9 of 25
    StrangeDaysStrangeDays Posts: 12,834member
    gatorguy said:
    2old4fun said:
    Wealth Inequality. You have more money than I do so you should give me your money that you invested your time and effort acquiring.
    What are you talking about? This is a story about corporate executes not taking privacy seriously whatsoever and leaking it like a sieve. With responsibility comes accountability. 
    From the AI article:
    "The Senator has made tackling corporate monopolies, corruption, and wealth inequality a centerpiece of her early campaign."
    Ah two words from the article about something else. Ok, sure, then we can get to the factually false part of his claim, the straw man that it's has something to do with simply wanting free money rather than addressing the very real problems of the rigged economy that favors the billionaire class, many of which do not even invest their own time & effort to acquire as claimed, such as the Walton family descendants (majority stockholder of Walmart), who make more in a single minute than their typical employee makes in an entire year. 

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/02/19/does-walton-family-earn-more-minute-than-walmart-workers-year/

    Combined with tax breaks for this level of wealthy, lack of salary tax, etc, and the case is solid that this sort of wealth hoarding and consolidation is a very real pulling up of the ladder, and does actual harm to the economy. 
    edited April 2019 neo-techn2itivguy
  • Reply 10 of 25
    bloggerblogbloggerblog Posts: 2,462member
    There should be a tech country that is safe from the laws of all nations and away from the hands of all politicians.
  • Reply 11 of 25
    sflocalsflocal Posts: 6,092member
    I hope it's retroactive, and starts with Equifax.
    dkhaleycornchipTickTockNik
  • Reply 12 of 25
    crowleycrowley Posts: 10,453member
    There should be a tech country that is safe from the laws of all nations and away from the hands of all politicians.
    Ah, the utopia of ZeroAccountabiltyStan!  No thanks.
    cornchipn2itivguyrandominternetperson
  • Reply 13 of 25
    There should be a tech country that is safe from the laws of all nations and away from the hands of all politicians.
    That's what Peter Thiel was trying to do with his floating city "seasteading" concept. All the libertarian elites could duke it out for supremacy Bioshock-style. Thiel has apparently abandoned this idea...for now. 
    randominternetperson
  • Reply 14 of 25
    seanismorrisseanismorris Posts: 1,624member
    Did they go after the banksters that crashed the economy and caused the Great Recession?

    The reality is after a data breach the company might be fined a pitifully small amount.  There will be NO jail time for execs, the worst thing that will happen is being let go.  Can you call it “fired” ... If they sail away on their golden umbrella?

    This is political grandstanding and total BS.  These politicians get elected by donations from the tech elite.

    In these situations, the lowly tech that warned of potential vulnerabilities (but whose manager ignored) will be the “fall guy” and fired.

    I’m all for security being priority number one, but the reality is dollars rule.  The best and maybe the only thing the public can do, is shunning companies that screw up.

    Hello there Facebook...

    Yep, people still use their services... back to the drawing board.
    cornchip
  • Reply 15 of 25
    quinneyquinney Posts: 2,528member
    gatorguy said:
    Wants to address wealth inequality too? She has a lot on her plate so she better come packing a big fork and a really absorbent napkin. It'll be messy.
    So Elizabeth Warren needs a really absorbent napkin?  That's low, even coming from someone like you.
  • Reply 16 of 25
    seanismorrisseanismorris Posts: 1,624member
    Can these... I can’t think of a worse word than “politicians” cut the B.S and get back to real issues like the skyrocketing National Debt?

    http://www.usdebtclock.org/
  • Reply 17 of 25
    22july201322july2013 Posts: 3,564member
    Can these... I can’t think of a worse word than “politicians” cut the B.S and get back to real issues like the skyrocketing National Debt?

    http://www.usdebtclock.org/
    I'm likely to be dead of old age before any national debt crisis causes an economic disaster so I certainly don't mind if my government quadruples its national debt. At my age I could be a socialist looking for government handouts, free infrastructure, free health care, free roads, free education, free food, free gas, and so on. It won't be me paying off that debt.
  • Reply 18 of 25
    badmonkbadmonk Posts: 1,285member
    sflocal said:
    I hope it's retroactive, and starts with Equifax.
    agree wholeheartedly on this point, the fact that Equifax has not had a perp walk or multibillion dollar fine is gobsmacking.  I support EW on this point.
    randominternetperson
  • Reply 19 of 25
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member
    There should be a tech country that is safe from the laws of all nations and away from the hands of all politicians.
    That's what Peter Thiel was trying to do with his floating city "seasteading" concept. All the libertarian elites could duke it out for supremacy Bioshock-style. Thiel has apparently abandoned this idea...for now. 
    Found the article you were referring to:  https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/11/fashion/peter-thiel-donald-trump-silicon-valley-technology-gawker.html

    But it looks like at least some plans are still going forward:  https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-07-30/floating-island-project-pushes-on-without-peter-thiel-s-support
  • Reply 20 of 25
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member

    quinney said:
    gatorguy said:
    Wants to address wealth inequality too? She has a lot on her plate so she better come packing a big fork and a really absorbent napkin. It'll be messy.
    So Elizabeth Warren needs a really absorbent napkin?  That's low, even coming from someone like you.
    What kind of “napkin” do you think he meant? He’s talking about “a lot on her plate”.
    n2itivguygatorguy
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