Roll Call, February 1, 2022

By Gopal Ratnam

Tech companies are racing toward new frontiers involving immersive virtual reality worlds that some experts fear could exacerbate existing problems as Congress lags behind the sector’s rapid developments.

The emerging technologies will further test lawmakers, who are still grappling with addressing tech-enabled dangers such as online misinformation and disinformation, data theft and loss of privacy that plague people’s computers and smartphones.

Several data privacy legislative proposals that have been debated over the past four years but have yet to become law would apply protections in the context of emerging technologies, said Aaron Cooper, vice president of global policy at BSA | The Software Alliance.

At their core, Cooper said, those bills address two key elements: “One is making sure consumers have rights over their data. And the other is making sure that companies act responsibly with their data and not in a way that would be counter to what their customers would expect.”

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Original Posting: https://rollcall.com/2022/02/01/tech-industry-seeks-new-frontiers-as-congress-lags-behind/