[{"innerBlocks":[],"name":"core\/freeform","postId":2261,"blockType":{"name":"core\/freeform","keywords":[],"attributes":{"content":{"type":"string","source":"raw"},"lock":{"type":"object"}},"providesContext":[],"usesContext":[],"selectors":[],"supports":{"className":false,"customClassName":false,"reusable":false},"styles":[],"variations":[],"apiVersion":3,"title":"Classic","description":"Use the classic WordPress editor.","category":"text"},"originalContent":"Fueled by Facebook\u2019s failure to safeguard the data of users of its social media platform, lawmakers in Congress are looking to protect the online privacy of Americans through wide-ranging legislation that could have significant effects on the handling of health information.

The Balancing the Rights of Web Surfers Equally and Responsibly (BROWSER) Act would require both Internet service providers (ISPs) and \u201cedge service\u201d vendors\u2014such as Facebook\u2014to give consumers opt-in or opt-out rights for sharing certain sensitive data, including health information, with third parties.

Introduced last year by Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), chair of the House Communication and Technology Subcommittee, the BROWSER Act<\/a> defines edge service as one provided over the Internet for which the provider requires the user to subscribe or establish an account in order to use the service\u2014 including social media.

According to Blackburn, Federal Communications Commission privacy and data security rules have unfairly focused on ISPs even though edge service providers such as Facebook collect just as much consumer data\u2014if not more. However, the BROWSER Act would designate the Federal Trade Commission as the nation\u2019s sole online privacy enforcer and effectively treat ISPs and edge providers equally.

\u201cThis bill creates a level and fair privacy playing field by bringing all entities that collect and sell the personal data of individuals under the same rules,\u201d said Blackburn. \u201cWhat this would do is have one regulator (FTC), one set of rules for the entire ecosystem.\u201d

In November 2011, the FTC announced that Facebook and the agency had reached an agreement on a consent order relating to charges that the vendor had \u201cdeceived consumers by telling them they could keep their information on Facebook private, and then repeatedly allowing it to be shared and made public.\u201d But, some members of Congress contend that the company violated that agreement.

Also See<\/b>: Zuckerberg vs. U.S. Senate, round 1: Reasonable expectations<\/a>

On Wednesday, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg was again in the congressional crosshairs answering pointed questions during a House hearing on the transparency and use of consumer data related to the Cambridge Analytics scandal and Russia\u2019s interference in the 2016 U.S. election.

\u201cThe incident involving Cambridge Analytica and the compromised personal information of approximately 87 million users, mostly Americans, is deeply disturbing to this committee,\u201d said Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.), chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. \u201cThere are critical, unanswered questions surrounding Facebook\u2019s business model and the entire digital ecosystem regarding online privacy and consumer protection.\u201d

In particular, members of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce took Zuckerberg to task in Wednesday\u2019s hearing for Facebook\u2019s role in allowing the data of its social media users\u2014which include more than 2 billion people worldwide\u2014to be exploited by third parties apps.

Rep. Kathy Castor (D-Fla.) charged that a \u201cdevil\u2019s bargain has been struck\u201d by consumers who use Facebook. \u201cAmericans do not like to be manipulated\u2014they do not like to be spied on,\u201d Castor told Zuckerberg. \u201cFacebook now has evolved to a place where you are tracking everyone. You are collecting data on just about everybody.\u201d

According to Castor, the social media company is collecting personal information\u2014including health data\u2014even outside of Facebook. \u201cYou\u2019re tracking everyone\u2019s online activities\u2014their searches, you can track what people buy, correct? You\u2019re collecting that data\u2014what people purchase online,\u201d she claimed. \u201cYou\u2019re collecting medical data, correct, on people that are on the Internet\u2014whether they\u2019re Facebook users or not.\u201d

CNBC reported last week<\/a> that Facebook was in talks with top hospitals and other medical groups as recently as last month about a proposal to share data about the social networks of their most vulnerable patients. However, according to the report, the proposal never went past the planning phases and has been put on hold after the Cambridge Analytica data leak scandal.

\u201cThe idea that Facebook embarked on a secret mission to explore collecting patient data from hospitals to map to Facebook profile data is troubling,\u201d said Kurt Long, founder and CEO of data protection vendor FairWarning, in a written statement. \u201cThis is an escalation of how user data is being monetized by data giants like Facebook without the knowledge of end-users and patients and without even the most essential safeguards to privacy and security.\u201d

Wednesday's House hearing, like the Senate hearing on Tuesday, focused on a now-defunct policy that allowed app developers to access not only the data of Facebook users who use that app but also their friends. Facebook says they changed that policy in 2014 so that when users sign onto a Facebook app, that app gets access to that person\u2019s data only.

In his testimony, Zuckerberg acknowledged that \u201cthere\u2019s more we can do here to limit the information developers can access and put more safeguards in place to prevent abuse.\u201d

However, Congresswoman Blackburn and other lawmakers do not believe that Facebook\u2019s self-policing is enough to ensure that consumer data\u2014such as health information\u2014is sufficiently protected.

\u201cA constituent of mine who\u2019s a benefits manager brought up a great question,\u201d Blackburn told Zuckerberg. \u201cShe said in healthcare you\u2019ve got HIPAA, you\u2019ve got Gramm-Leach-Bliley, you\u2019ve got the Fair Credit Reporting Act\u2014these are all compliance documents for privacy for other sectors of the industry. She was stunned that there are no privacy documents that apply to you all.\u201d

Legislation such as the BROWSER Act is the answer, according to Blackburn. \u201cWill you commit to working with us to pass privacy legislation?\u201d she asked Zuckerberg, who said he was not familiar with the bill. \u201cThe BROWSER Act is 13 pages, so you can easily become familiar with it. And we would appreciate your help.\u201d

Likewise, Leonard Lance (R-N.J.) urged Zuckerberg to support the BROWSER Act. \u201cI\u2019m a co-sponsor,\u201d Lance told the Facebook CEO. \u201cI commend it to your attention\u2014to the attention of your company. It is for the entire ecosystem. It is for ISPs and edge providers. It is not just for one or the other.\u201d

Lance asked Facebook to review the legislation. \u201cWe will review it and get back to you,\u201d replied Zuckerberg.

Nonetheless, Rep. Chris Collins (R-N.Y.), a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee\u2019s Health Subcommittee, said there is currently no need for additional legislation and federal regulations that would govern how Facebook handles consumer data.

Collins argued that Facebook is currently operating under a 2011 FTC consent order which is enough. \u201cThat\u2019s a real thing and it goes for 20 years,\u201d he observed. \u201cThe consent decree does what it does. There\u2019d be significant financial penalties were Facebook to ignore that consent decree.\u201d

But, Chairman Walden insisted that the American people are concerned about how Facebook protects and profits from its users\u2019 data.

\u201cPeople are willing to share quite a bit about their lives online based on the belief that they can easily navigate and control privacy settings and trust that their personal information is in good hands,\u201d concluded Walden. \u201cIf a company fails to keep its promises about how personal data are being used, that breach of trust must have consequences.\u201d

Rep. Mike Doyle (D-Penn.) added that the only way to close the trust gap between vendors such as Facebook and consumers is \u201cthrough legislation that creates and empowers a sufficiently resourced expert oversight agency with rulemaking authority to protect the digital privacy and ensure that companies protect our users\u2019 data.\u201d","saveContent":"Fueled by Facebook\u2019s failure to safeguard the data of users of its social media platform, lawmakers in Congress are looking to protect the online privacy of Americans through wide-ranging legislation that could have significant effects on the handling of health information.

The Balancing the Rights of Web Surfers Equally and Responsibly (BROWSER) Act would require both Internet service providers (ISPs) and \u201cedge service\u201d vendors\u2014such as Facebook\u2014to give consumers opt-in or opt-out rights for sharing certain sensitive data, including health information, with third parties.

Introduced last year by Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), chair of the House Communication and Technology Subcommittee, the BROWSER Act<\/a> defines edge service as one provided over the Internet for which the provider requires the user to subscribe or establish an account in order to use the service\u2014 including social media.

According to Blackburn, Federal Communications Commission privacy and data security rules have unfairly focused on ISPs even though edge service providers such as Facebook collect just as much consumer data\u2014if not more. However, the BROWSER Act would designate the Federal Trade Commission as the nation\u2019s sole online privacy enforcer and effectively treat ISPs and edge providers equally.

\u201cThis bill creates a level and fair privacy playing field by bringing all entities that collect and sell the personal data of individuals under the same rules,\u201d said Blackburn. \u201cWhat this would do is have one regulator (FTC), one set of rules for the entire ecosystem.\u201d

In November 2011, the FTC announced that Facebook and the agency had reached an agreement on a consent order relating to charges that the vendor had \u201cdeceived consumers by telling them they could keep their information on Facebook private, and then repeatedly allowing it to be shared and made public.\u201d But, some members of Congress contend that the company violated that agreement.

Also See<\/b>: Zuckerberg vs. U.S. Senate, round 1: Reasonable expectations<\/a>

On Wednesday, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg was again in the congressional crosshairs answering pointed questions during a House hearing on the transparency and use of consumer data related to the Cambridge Analytics scandal and Russia\u2019s interference in the 2016 U.S. election.

\u201cThe incident involving Cambridge Analytica and the compromised personal information of approximately 87 million users, mostly Americans, is deeply disturbing to this committee,\u201d said Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.), chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. \u201cThere are critical, unanswered questions surrounding Facebook\u2019s business model and the entire digital ecosystem regarding online privacy and consumer protection.\u201d

In particular, members of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce took Zuckerberg to task in Wednesday\u2019s hearing for Facebook\u2019s role in allowing the data of its social media users\u2014which include more than 2 billion people worldwide\u2014to be exploited by third parties apps.

Rep. Kathy Castor (D-Fla.) charged that a \u201cdevil\u2019s bargain has been struck\u201d by consumers who use Facebook. \u201cAmericans do not like to be manipulated\u2014they do not like to be spied on,\u201d Castor told Zuckerberg. \u201cFacebook now has evolved to a place where you are tracking everyone. You are collecting data on just about everybody.\u201d

According to Castor, the social media company is collecting personal information\u2014including health data\u2014even outside of Facebook. \u201cYou\u2019re tracking everyone\u2019s online activities\u2014their searches, you can track what people buy, correct? You\u2019re collecting that data\u2014what people purchase online,\u201d she claimed. \u201cYou\u2019re collecting medical data, correct, on people that are on the Internet\u2014whether they\u2019re Facebook users or not.\u201d

CNBC reported last week<\/a> that Facebook was in talks with top hospitals and other medical groups as recently as last month about a proposal to share data about the social networks of their most vulnerable patients. However, according to the report, the proposal never went past the planning phases and has been put on hold after the Cambridge Analytica data leak scandal.

\u201cThe idea that Facebook embarked on a secret mission to explore collecting patient data from hospitals to map to Facebook profile data is troubling,\u201d said Kurt Long, founder and CEO of data protection vendor FairWarning, in a written statement. \u201cThis is an escalation of how user data is being monetized by data giants like Facebook without the knowledge of end-users and patients and without even the most essential safeguards to privacy and security.\u201d

Wednesday's House hearing, like the Senate hearing on Tuesday, focused on a now-defunct policy that allowed app developers to access not only the data of Facebook users who use that app but also their friends. Facebook says they changed that policy in 2014 so that when users sign onto a Facebook app, that app gets access to that person\u2019s data only.

In his testimony, Zuckerberg acknowledged that \u201cthere\u2019s more we can do here to limit the information developers can access and put more safeguards in place to prevent abuse.\u201d

However, Congresswoman Blackburn and other lawmakers do not believe that Facebook\u2019s self-policing is enough to ensure that consumer data\u2014such as health information\u2014is sufficiently protected.

\u201cA constituent of mine who\u2019s a benefits manager brought up a great question,\u201d Blackburn told Zuckerberg. \u201cShe said in healthcare you\u2019ve got HIPAA, you\u2019ve got Gramm-Leach-Bliley, you\u2019ve got the Fair Credit Reporting Act\u2014these are all compliance documents for privacy for other sectors of the industry. She was stunned that there are no privacy documents that apply to you all.\u201d

Legislation such as the BROWSER Act is the answer, according to Blackburn. \u201cWill you commit to working with us to pass privacy legislation?\u201d she asked Zuckerberg, who said he was not familiar with the bill. \u201cThe BROWSER Act is 13 pages, so you can easily become familiar with it. And we would appreciate your help.\u201d

Likewise, Leonard Lance (R-N.J.) urged Zuckerberg to support the BROWSER Act. \u201cI\u2019m a co-sponsor,\u201d Lance told the Facebook CEO. \u201cI commend it to your attention\u2014to the attention of your company. It is for the entire ecosystem. It is for ISPs and edge providers. It is not just for one or the other.\u201d

Lance asked Facebook to review the legislation. \u201cWe will review it and get back to you,\u201d replied Zuckerberg.

Nonetheless, Rep. Chris Collins (R-N.Y.), a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee\u2019s Health Subcommittee, said there is currently no need for additional legislation and federal regulations that would govern how Facebook handles consumer data.

Collins argued that Facebook is currently operating under a 2011 FTC consent order which is enough. \u201cThat\u2019s a real thing and it goes for 20 years,\u201d he observed. \u201cThe consent decree does what it does. There\u2019d be significant financial penalties were Facebook to ignore that consent decree.\u201d

But, Chairman Walden insisted that the American people are concerned about how Facebook protects and profits from its users\u2019 data.

\u201cPeople are willing to share quite a bit about their lives online based on the belief that they can easily navigate and control privacy settings and trust that their personal information is in good hands,\u201d concluded Walden. \u201cIf a company fails to keep its promises about how personal data are being used, that breach of trust must have consequences.\u201d

Rep. Mike Doyle (D-Penn.) added that the only way to close the trust gap between vendors such as Facebook and consumers is \u201cthrough legislation that creates and empowers a sufficiently resourced expert oversight agency with rulemaking authority to protect the digital privacy and ensure that companies protect our users\u2019 data.\u201d","order":0,"get_parent":{},"attributes":[],"attributesType":{"content":{"type":"string","source":"raw"},"lock":{"type":"object"}},"dynamicContent":""}]

Facebook scandal could drive greater protections for consumer health data

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