A giant vacuum for your personal information

From what you read and purchase to who you talk to and where you go, corporations are collecting your personal information.

And we know far too little about how our data is collected, used and shared.

Data breaches have also become all too common — just look at Marriott and Equifax — yet companies manage to avoid nearly all accountability when their systems fail and Americans' privacy is compromised.

Recently, I introduced the Consumer Data Protection Act to give users greater control over their data and to hold corporate bad actors accountable.

The bill's key provisions include:

· Creating a Do Not Track list barring companies from sharing or selling a user's personal data

· Establishing a minimum online privacy standard and requiring companies to publish yearly Data Protection Reports

· Imposing strict penalties on companies and executives who've abused consumer trust and compromised user privacy

· Requiring companies to assess the algorithms processing consumer data to examine their impact on accuracy, fairness, bias, discrimination, privacy and security.

For far too long, corporations have taken advantage of users' dependency on the internet, profiting off our privacy without answering to anyone.

My bill creates transparency for consumers and gives them new tools to control their information. It's past time for tough rules to hold companies accountable that abuse Americans' most private information.

I will never stop fighting to protect Americans' right to control their data. I will keep you updated as the issue develops.

Ron