House Intel panel launches bipartisan effort to renew surveillance program
NBCDec 22, 2022
The Facts
Rohit Chopra, the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau — a US government agency — will announce Tuesday a new rule to restrict the types of consumer data that can be sold by businesses. It will require data brokers, or any other company in the so-called surveillance industry, to be covered by the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
Bureau officials have already stated that they aim to broaden the number of companies currently subject to the 53-year-old law, including the use of data derived from payment histories, personal income, and criminal records.
The Spin
Democratic narrative
The Biden admin. has worked to protect sensitive consumer data since he took office. Prompted by a series of executive orders, the White House has strengthened bureaucratic powers to hold tech companies accountable and stop them from stealing digital data. As AI grows in importance, Biden is taking steps to protect citizens from the surveillance industrial complex.
Republican narrative
Sadly, Biden's history with tech companies shows the White House has no intention of protecting all Americans. If his administration actually cared about this, they wouldn't have demanded that Big Tech suppress conservative speech from social media. Bullying platforms to censor conservative users require leveraging surveillance state techniques. The American people deserve better policies and First Amendment protections.