Tech bills of the week: Limiting data harvesting; AI for financial fraud prevention; and more

"The You Own the Data - or YODA - Act, introduced by Rep. Michael Cloud, R-Texas, tackles longstanding data privacy issues by limiting data collection from website hosts beyond "what is reasonably necessary to provide the requested service," and bans tracking cookies without explicit user permission."

"The measure enables the Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general to enforce the YODA Act's pillars. Notably, it creates recourse for individuals whose data has been illegally harvested to bring civil suits against companies with an annual gross revenue of $50 million or more."

""The Constitution protects Americans' right to private property and privacy from unwarranted searches and seizures. That principle doesn't disappear the moment you open a browser," Cloud said in the press release."

"The bill - the Bank Fraud Technology Advancement Act - also includes a section calling for the agencies to establish a voluntary "community bank fraud technology pilot program" one year after completion of the required study, saying that it would help "facilitate community financial institution access to advanced fraud detection tools.""

The YODA Act would restrict companies from requiring users to provide access to their data as a condition of service. It would limit data collection by website hosts to what is reasonably necessary to provide the requested service. It would also ban tracking cookies unless users give explicit permission. The Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general would enforce these requirements. The act would also allow individuals to bring civil suits against companies with annual gross revenue of $50 million or more when data is illegally harvested. Separately, the Bank Fraud Technology Advancement Act would require federal banking agencies to study artificial intelligence and other advanced technologies for fraud detection and prevention, with attention to community financial institutions, and would create a voluntary community bank fraud technology pilot program after the study.

Read at Nextgov.com