Stated in Senator Ed Markey’s article on The Boston Globe, the US is having a serious privacy issue due to many incidents involving consumer’s data being breached. The problem of cybersecurity in the US requires urgent action.
Just this year, there have been multiple invasions of privacy as smart phone apps become more popular, with notable incidents being two billion Facebook users having their information harvested, Delta Airline travelers’ credit cards breached, and 150 million under Armour’s MyFitnessPal having their data compromised. These breaches of personal information have clearly alarmed the nation, and American users are demanding an online bill of rights, which includes detailed descriptions of consumer data collection and usage by websites.
In the era of Big Data, the world must cope with challenges of information availability. It is necessary to have legislation that makes consent the law of the land; voluntary standards will not be enough, said Senator Markey.
In the search for the solution, Senator Edward J. Markey had a discussion with Governor Michael Dukakis, founder of MDI, on MDI’s AIWS Initiative and AIWS Ethics and Standards.