California Democratic Reps. Anna Eshoo and Zoe Lofgren introduced legislation Tuesday to create an independent digital privacy agency within the executive branch (see 1911040049), as expected (see 1906250033). A president-appointed director would lead the new agency for a five-year term. The Online Privacy Act also would grant rights for U.S. citizens to access, correct or delete their data, plus rights to determine how long companies can keep data. Companies would need to receive consent from users in “plain, simple language,” said the bill. Public Knowledge praised the bill, with Policy Counsel Dylan Gilbert highlighting that it “provides a federal ‘floor’ of privacy protections and offers individuals the ability to enforce violations of their privacy rights through a private right of action.”

Berkeley, California, can’t use facial recognition technology after the City Council unanimously adopted a law Tuesday evening stopping the city from acquiring, retaining, requesting, accessing or using any facial recognition technology or information obtained from such tech. The vote had no “impact on any existing or planned staff operations,” the city’s spokesperson emailed Wednesday. “City staff have never sought the use of facial recognition software, nor do we have any in place. Under our existing surveillance ordinance, City staff would have had to go to the City Council for explicit permission to purchase and use surveillance technologies, including facial recognition software.” Berkeley is the fourth U.S. city to pass such a ban, Fight for the Future said Wednesday. “The epidemic spread of facial recognition is a human rights crisis,” said Fight for the Future Deputy Director Evan Greer, “but we still have a chance to draw a line in the sand.”

Local, state and federal officials should end Amazon partnerships that allow police to use the company’s Ring doorbell products, more than 30 advocates wrote Tuesday. Fight for the Future, Color of Change and Project on Government Oversight signed. Amazon Ring data shows at least 500 partnerships between the company and cities, which the groups wrote threaten privacy, civil liberties and democracy because of lack of oversight. Police can use face scanning technology to profile individuals and invade the privacy of their homes, the groups wrote. Claims that the partnerships pose privacy and civil liberties risks are “inaccurate,” emailed an Amazon spokesperson. “Ring’s mission is to help make neighborhoods safer,” the spokesperson said, citing design that keeps users in control of their privacy.

Facebook should expand end-to-end encryption across its messaging services, despite pushback from Attorney General William Barr and colleagues in Australia and the UK (see 1910030058), more than 50 tech and privacy groups wrote the platform Thursday. Access Now, the American Civil Liberties Union, Center for Democracy & Technology, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Electronic Privacy Information Center, Engine, Free Press, Internet Society, New America’s Open Technology Institute and TechFreedom signed. “Each day that platforms do not support strong end-to-end security is another day that this data can be breached, mishandled, or otherwise obtained by powerful entities or rogue actors to exploit it,” they wrote. The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation separately asked DOJ not to undermine encryption. The department “is clearly attempting to reboot its failed arguments on encryption by reframing the debate as one needed to protect children,” Vice President Daniel Castro wrote, citing better alternatives like “tracking meta-data about user behavior, infiltrating networks of bad actors, and screening images before they are uploaded.” The department didn’t comment Friday.

About 80 percent of U.S. adults have adjusted their social media privacy settings or decreased their social media usage, DuckDuckGo reported Thursday. Nearly a quarter of survey participants “deleted or deactivated a social media profile due to privacy concerns,” the platform reported. It surveyed about 1,100 American adults in August.

Banning facial recognition technology could hinder law enforcement, some 40 associations, law enforcement groups, tech companies and researchers wrote Congress Thursday. CTA, the Computing Technology Industry Association, Information Technology and Innovation Foundation and NetChoice signed. Alternatives include “expanding testing and performance standards, the development of best practices and guidance for law enforcement, and additional training.”

Congress should pass comprehensive federal privacy legislation for a national standard reflecting American values, the Internet Association said Tuesday. IA’s new campaign seeks privacy protections that enable user control over data regardless of industry and location. IA urged legislation that allows users to access, correct, delete and download data. Fight for the Future Deputy Director Evan Greer accused Silicon Valley of trying to get “Congress to pass a law that lets them continue harvesting and abusing our sensitive data” and override state laws like those in California (see 1909160045): “We need real data privacy protections that guard against discrimination, allow people to sue tech companies that misuse their data, and don’t pre-empt state laws.” Also Tuesday, the Internet Society’s (ISOC) Online Trust Alliance reported most companies and organizations it studied don’t comply with international privacy regulations and aren’t “prepared for new US regulations rolling out in 2020.” About 98 percent have privacy statements with language about data sharing, and 67 percent said they don’t share data with third parties. Less than 1 percent “had language stating which types of third parties could access user data,” the group said. ISOC said it analyzed 1,200 privacy statements from organizations.

Transparency about use of personal data the health tech industry collects from consumers is among hallmarks of “voluntary privacy guidelines” CTA released Thursday, it said. It created them through consensus from among a “wide range” of member companies, said the association. “The principles cover the collection, use and sharing of data generated from personal health and wellness devices, apps, websites and other digital tools,” it said. They're meant as “baseline recommendations,” said the principles. “We want companies to retain flexibility on how to implement the Principles so they can account for differences in technology, products, and services. We also want companies to preserve control over how they communicate with their consumers.”

The National Institute of Standards and Technology is collecting comment on its privacy framework through Oct. 24 (see 1906280040), said a release Monday.

Surveillance partnerships between hundreds of police departments and Amazon’s internet-connected doorbell company Ring raise “considerable privacy and civil liberty risks,” Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., wrote Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos Thursday. Police reportedly can access video footage from Ring products with user consent. Markey has particular concerns about the company and police using face-scanning technology to flag unsuspecting individuals as suspicious. Amazon didn’t comment.