[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 121 (Thursday, July 18, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4925-S4926]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                            Consumer Privacy

  Mr. THUNE. Madam President, these days, there is an online component 
to almost everything that Americans do. Were you at the beach last 
weekend? You undoubtedly posted pictures on Facebook and Instagram. You 
probably used Google Maps or Waze or another map app to find your way 
there. You undoubtedly booked a hotel stay on one of the myriad hotel 
booking sites, and you transmitted your credit card information online 
to pay for it. During your stay, you probably took advantage of the 
hotel's free Wi-Fi, whether you were uploading pictures or watching a 
show on Netflix. If you had dinner at a restaurant while you were 
there, there is a good chance you used the internet to make a 
reservation. If you booked an excursion while you were there--maybe a 
fishing trip or a boat tour--chances are good you made that reservation 
online as well.
  I could go on, but you get the idea. The internet and mobile 
internet-enabled devices like our phones and watches have resulted in 
an explosion of opportunity and innovation. Information is more 
accessible than ever before. We can communicate more swiftly and easily 
than ever before. We can shop without leaving our house, strike out 
confidently into the unknown without a map and still find our way back, 
turn on the air conditioner or heater with a simple voice command, and 
see who is knocking on our door while we are 600 miles away on 
vacation.
  With the convenience and opportunity of the internet revolution comes 
serious privacy concerns. Every time we book a hotel, navigate a new 
town, buy movie tickets, or buy groceries online, we are putting a lot 
of personal information into the hands of a lot of different companies: 
banking information, health information, information about our 
location, our preferences, our habits. All of this information is 
likely used in some form or fashion by some of the world's most 
successful internet businesses to personalize our search results on 
Google or to deliver the content that we see on Facebook or Instagram.
  As a member and former chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, I 
have gotten an up-close look at the issue of consumer privacy. I 
believe that developing bipartisan consumer privacy legislation needs 
to be a priority in Congress.
  Last year, as chairman of the Commerce Committee, I convened hearings 
into consumer data privacy and the accessing of millions of Facebook 
users' personal data by the political intelligence firm Cambridge 
Analytica. I also led a hearing to discuss the European Union's General 
Data Protection Regulation and California's new privacy-related law. I 
have continued to focus on consumer privacy this year as chairman of 
the Commerce Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, Innovation, 
and the Internet.
  A few weeks ago, I convened a hearing to look at the use of 
persuasive technology on internet platforms like Facebook and YouTube. 
Sites like YouTube and Facebook use algorithms and artificial 
intelligence driven by user-specific data to tailor just about 
everything you see on their platforms, from ads to the video that plays 
after the YouTube video you searched for. These algorithms can be 
useful. If you searched for Paul Simon's ``Diamonds on the Soles of Her 
Shoes'' on YouTube, you probably will not mind hearing ``Graceland'' 
next. If you are shopping for a new computer, you might find it useful 
to see an ad for the latest HP or Apple laptop.
  These algorithms can also be deployed in far more troubling ways. For 
example, in June, the New York Times reported that YouTube's automated 
recommendation system was found to be automatically playing a video of 
children playing in their backyard pool to users who had watched 
sexually themed content. Algorithms can also be used to limit what news 
stories and other content people are exposed to.
  As we learned from a witness at the hearing on persuasive technology, 
a former Google employee named Tristan Harris, these algorithms have 
the potential to be used to influence the thoughts and behaviors of 
literally billions of people.
  For all of these reasons, I believe that transparency needs to be an 
essential part of the conversation. Americans should be clearly 
informed about how their personal data is being used and how companies 
influence and control what Americans see online.
  Obviously, users have an obligation to exercise personal 
responsibility, but companies also need to provide greater transparency 
about how content is being filtered.
  Given the ever-increasing size of our digital footprint and the 
increased privacy dangers that come along with that, the question isn't 
whether we will have Federal privacy legislation; it is what that 
legislation will look like.
  I believe that any final bill should be bipartisan and should set a 
single national data privacy standard so that companies and consumers 
don't have to navigate 50 different sets of rules. We need to make 
consumer data privacy a priority while also preserving the ability of 
companies to innovate and deliver the cutting-edge services we rely on.
  I also believe, as I mentioned, that any bill should include 
transparency provisions that give consumers a clear understanding of 
what is being done with their data. I believe consumers have the option 
to engage on internet platforms without being manipulated by algorithms 
powered by their own personal data.
  This isn't the first time Congress has tackled new and emerging 
privacy concerns. Over the last few decades, Congress has acted to 
protect children online, protect sensitive healthcare information, and 
to modernize how institutions use consumer data.

[[Page S4926]]

  I believe we can follow in that tradition by developing a new 
consumer privacy law, and that is why I am committed to working with 
colleagues from both parties to develop legislation to meet the privacy 
challenges we are facing today. I am confident that we can arrive at a 
strong consumer privacy bill for the digital age, and I will continue 
to make Americans' privacy a priority of mine here in Congress.

  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.