Designing Accounting Safeguards to Help Broader Oversight and Regulations on Data (DASHBOARD) Act

Economic Questions: 

• What evidence supports the assertion that this bill would increase competition? Would antitrust enforcers be able to identify violations with the information they collect from disclosures?

• Do disclosures on advertising tech and data collection increase competition?

• Do disclosures about data collection increase competition?

• How would one measure the value of each additional individual’s data to a company, particularly when the data has value only when combined with other information?

Summary:

Introduced by Sen. Warner (D-VA) and Hawley (R-MO). This act requires companies to disclose to consumers what ways their data is being used, which third parties the platform is sharing data with, and how much their data is worth to the platform. It is an attempt to address privacy issues by limiting the way firms can collect, buy, and sell personal data.

Supporters say the bill will promote competition by making the value of data more transparent to attract competitors to the market. Additionally, the value of the data could be used in assisting antitrust enforcers in identifying violations to regulation, including unfair/anti competitive behaviors. It is a step towards better privacy and transparency for users.

Opponents point out that the free platforms we use are paid for through advertising revenues generated on the sites themselves. Without advertising, tech companies may not collect data, but the drawback is a severely limited internet, both in innovation and user experience. 

References and Further Reading:

Warner & Hawley Introduce Bill to Force Social Media Companies to Disclose How They Are Monetizing User Data

WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) and Josh Hawley (R-MO) will introduce the Designing Accounting Safeguards to Help Broaden Oversight And Regulations on Data (DASHBOARD) Act, bipartisan legislation that will require data harvesting companies such as social media platforms to tell consumers and financial regulators exactly what data they are collecting from consumers, and how it is being leveraged by the platform for profit.

The cost of an ad-free internet: $35 more per month

Uncovering and explaining how our digital world is changing - and changing us. Nothing is ever free, especially on the internet. Internet companies collect data about you - what sites you visit, what you buy, what demographic you fit into - in exchange for "free" use of their products, like Google's Gmail and Maps or Facebook and Instagram.

Two senators want social media firms to tell users how much their data is worth

A bipartisan team of senators introduced a bill Monday to require social media companies to disclose more information about the data they collect and monetize from their consumers. The Dashboard Act, which stands for Designing Accounting Safeguards to Help Broaden Oversight And Regulations on Data, aims to help consumers understand the price of using social media services that are free on face value.

Dashboard Act would force tech giants to tell users what data they collect, how much it's worth

The measure would require commercial services with more than 100 million active monthly users to disclose to customers and financial regulators the types of data they collect. They also would have to provide users with an assessment of the data's value to them.