National security is always a major consideration in the United States. Government organizations struggle to balance these security concerns with democratic freedoms. Technology is one area that is heavily regulated to protect the U.S. from data breaches and other harmful actions taken by bad actors. These are necessary provisions to protect the government and individual citizens.
1- Consumer Financial Information/Personal Information Security
SEC Rule 30 requires that US financial organizations create written policies that protect consumer records from disclosure and access by unauthorized individuals or organizations. Massive data breaches have occurred in most industries, but none are more serious than those of financial institutions. Loss of assets, identity theft, and money laundering are just some of the crimes associated with this issue.
Penalties for violating this law may include steep fines or other actions by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). Compliance with this law also protects the reputation of various companies. Consumers avoid companies with data security issues. Most other industries take similar steps to protect their data against costly breaches.
2- Content Oversight
The EU has created the Digital Service Act which affects US companies doing business in Europe. This law regulates how tech companies treat user data and monitor content on their platforms. Organizations like Meta will be forced to allow authorities to scrutinize their platform and institute rules about how they recruit users and sell their data.
Meta and other huge tech organizations are not eager to share their secrets, but they are under pressure to better screen their content and protect their users. Although EU law may currently be more stringent in this area than US law, these organizations are global so will have to get in line or face serious penalties.
3- Phone Calls
The FCC has put multiple rules in place to control robocalls and regulate caller ID. STIR/SHAKEN legislation requires service providers to authenticate caller ID to prevent fraudulent calls from reaching consumers. Robocalls often use spoofing technology to reach call recipients. Spoofing is when a call appears to come from a local area code or well-known agency when it actually comes from an illicit organization. The federal government and individual states have joined to stop these abuses. Sadly, fraud continues, particularly through the rise of spam/scam calls and texts. The FCC is currently taking steps to address this problem.
The U.S. is developing new laws to deal with technology issues, but the innovations frequently outrun regulation efforts. The world’s data is at stake, and no one’s personal information is entirely safe. Technology regulation will continue to evolve in response to new devices and services. However, there will always be a lag between the need for new laws and their development.
To stay abreast of these developments, interested parties should look to tech industry publications and government legislation. Action overseas, particularly in the European Union, often points the way to new regulations in the U.S. Tech companies must follow the laws of multiple countries in order to survive.
