PA Senators Collett and Boscola take action to protect digital privacy rights & combat corporate interests

During Data Privacy Week in the last week in January, PA State Senators Maria Collett (D-12 Montgomery) and Lisa Boscola (D-18 Lehigh/Northampton) have announced plans to reintroduce legislation to protect Pennsylvanians’ privacy rights online.

It’s no secret that online platforms have the capabilities to extract comprehensive – sometimes sensitive – data from their users to drive engagement and turn a profit through advertising companies. But far too often, this objective comes at the user’s expense.

“Social media executives and online retailers are making record profits selling our data,” said Collett. “As Pennsylvanians live more of their lives online than ever before, Senator Boscola and I are standing up to make sure your privacy rights are taken seriously. This bill would increase data transparency and let consumers call the shots when it comes to the monetization of their personal information.”

As demonstrated by Elon Musk’s questionable acquisition of X (formerly Twitter) and Mark Zuckerberg’s changes to Meta’s third-party fact-checking procedures, billionaire social media CEOs are known for prioritizing their own interests and profits over the safety and security of their users. Collett and Boscola’s bill would create commonsense guardrails to combat corporate greed and give consumers more control over their own data.

"This bill is about giving Pennsylvanian's control over their personal information,” said Boscola. “People deserve to know what data is being collected, how it’s used, and have the ability to opt out. With data breaches and privacy concerns growing, our legislation takes a critical step in ensuring consumers are informed and protected."

First introduced in 2022, Collett and Boscola’s legislation will protect Pennsylvanians by:

• Alerting them about what personal information is being collected about them, whether it is being is sold or disclosed and, if so, to whom;
• Letting them decline or opt-out of the sale of their personal information;
• Allowing them to access their personal information that has been collected; and
• Banning the sale of all private information for consumers under the age of 16.

The legislation would only target companies that derive at least half of their revenues from selling consumer data to third parties, minimizing the inconvenience and cost to Pennsylvania’s small businesses.