Obsidian Vault

Data Collection Privacy Law

Jan 07, 20268 min read

Broad Objectives

This framework calls for the end of mass data collection of tech companies and to grant people the choice over what personal data is collected, how it’s collected, and when it’s collected.

To help accomplish these ends and ensure companies follow such rules, a new commission should be established by the federal government to review closed-source code, protecting the privacy rights all Americans have.

This framework does not seek to eliminate all data collection, neither does it intent on gutting all personalized advertising or content serving, nor does it attempt to force all closed-source software to be open-source, but rather requires companies to offer the same services to those who offer to opt-out or refuse to opt-in.

Data Collection Privacy For Software Legislation Framework

I. Executive Summary

This framework seeks to enshrine a new notion of individual privacy in the digital age, outlining regulations for commercial closed-source software data practices and ensuring transparency through such software. The framework purposes the establishment of a new independent federal agency separate from law enforcement and the President that is responsible to reviewing software privacy compliance, auditing the structure and code for such software, and overseeing how personal or identifiable data collected is handled by digital commercial entities, while ensuring protections against government surveillance and keeping a separation of powers from other national security agencies.

In summary, this framework seeks to enshrine new data protection and data collection law and establishes an independent agency to review commercial closed-source software to guarantee such privacy while keeping law enforcement and politics separate to prevent government surveillance.

II. Purpose and Principles Of This Framework

  1. End the mass surveillance of gigantic technology corporations.

  2. Prevent unauthorized or excessive personal data collection.

  3. Avoid government misuse of new powers to prevent government surveillance.

  4. Guarantee user consent on all forms of personal data collection

  5. Including protections for personal data collected from or to train Artificial Intelligence.

  6. Ensure fair competition from large corporations with data and small businesses with lacking infrastructure.

  7. Protect the United States from foreign malicious software.

III. Scope and Definitions

A. Necessary Definitions

  • The following software is considered “software” in this framework.

    • Applications intended to be operated or hosted on a personal device.

    • Websites intended to be viewed or generated on a personal device.

  • The following is considered proprietary or closed-source in this framework.

    • Source-code that is not accessible to public view.

    • Software and code classified as trade secrets.

  • Software covered in and regulated within this framework is only for-profit software or software for for-profit organizations.

B. Software Subject to Review

The following categories must be met undergo privacy review:

  • Proprietary or closed-source apps distributed from major app stores.

  • Websites or applications with:

    • Advertisements or marketing for commercial services or products

    • User accounts or login mechanisms

    • Personalized content or recommendations

    • Behavioral analytics and individualized usage data

    • Annual revenue exceeding $50,000.

  • Foreign software originating from designated high‑risk regions (e.g., China, Russia, Middle East), unless such applications use structures or adjacent software that can be faithfully reviewed.

  • Special scrutiny for:

    • Social media platforms with algorithms for serving content

    • Messaging apps with no end-to-end encryption

    • Payment apps requiring a bank account or offering credit or loans

C. Software Exempt From Review

  • Software using only systems with open-source software that is publicly released on an accessible platform (e.g. GitHub).

  • Noncommercial personal projects, including:

    • Personal websites and blogs

    • Private apps or personal projects not distributed publicly and not intended for profit.

    • Software intended only for academic use.

  • Static websites containing only HTML/CSS or static content without data‑collection capability, including no cookies.

  • Small applications and websites earning < $50,000/year

    • Applications and websites earning less may be subject to random audits.

A. Categories of Data Collection

  1. The following may be allowed by default on installation of applications or rendering a webpage.

    • Crash logging

    • Basic device information

      • Operating system version and/or Browser

      • Model number.

    • Basic performance metrics

    • Fraud-prevention fingerprinting

      • Only for government websites and financial software.

  2. The following must require explicit consent to opt-in:

    • Unnecessary Personally Identifiable Information for intended operation, includes but not limited to

      • Personal details:

        • Full name

        • Date and place of birth

        • Mother’s maiden name

        • Race or ethnicity

        • Religion

        • Marital status

      • Personal identification numbers:

        • Social Security number (SSN)

        • Passport number

        • Driver’s license number

        • Taxpayer identification number

      • Contact and address information:

        • Home address

        • Email address

        • Telephone numbers (home, mobile, work)

        • Mailing address

      • Biometric data:

        • Fingerprints

        • Facial geometry

        • Retina scans

        • Voice signature

      • Online identifiers:

        • Cookie identifiers

      • Financial information:

        • Credit card numbers

        • Bank account numbers

        • Credit report information

      • Employment and education:

        • Employment information

        • Employee ID

        • Educational history

      • Other information:

        • Medical records

        • Vehicle registration number

        • Photographs

      • Users may be denied services when such information is necessary for relevant and user intended operations. Explanations should be required upon denial.

    • Behavioral analytics

      • Time on menu or webpage

      • Scrolling

      • Mouse movement

      • Clicks

      • Key or button presses

      • Gestures

    • Deep telemetry

    • Serial numbers

    • Cross-application or cross-website tracking

    • All forms of web cookies or similar technology

    • Location history

    • Collection of data with Artificial Intelligence

    • Model training data for AI systems

    • Personalized content serving, advertising, or profiling

  3. The following can never be collected without extreme explicit legal exception:

    • Data collected from persons under the age of eighteen

  • Options for consent may be placed in the following locations:

    • Settings or options menu

    • Separate application or website

    • Summarized in a small, dismissible text banner if desired

  • Not displayed as popups interrupting user experience unless necessary for section of the software.

  • No opt-out requirements or deceptive wording or presentation of consent forms or interface.

  • Consent must be able to be withdrawn at any time

V. Independent Software Privacy Commission (ISPC)

A new independent regulatory body, structurally similar to the Federal Reserve or USPS, with even more strict boundaries to prevent government surveillance.

A. Structure and Independence

  • Governed by a nonpartisan board of seven directors with staggered seven‑year terms.

    • Directors require academic degrees or related certificates and a minimum of seven years of professional experience in relating business or non-profit work.

    • A quorum of five directors must be present to conduct business.

  • Strict laws preventing political interference in similar fashion to the IRS (Section 6103)

  • No political entity (e.g. Congressperson or President) may request any information without a formal subpoena from Congress.

  • External oversight must be by relevant non-profit organizations completely separated from any government:

    • Digital privacy NGOs

    • Academic cryptography labs

    • Civil liberties organizations

  • Funding can be kept below $3,500,000,000 (2025), roughly similar to the CISA’s cybersecurity agency (2025).

B. Staffing Restrictions

  • No employee shall have worked for a major for‑profit technology company in the last ten years.

  • No employee shall hold financial interest in any technology or data security or collecting related company.

C. Review Types

The ISPC reviews all the code that is used to run the actual software that may be in the chain of command for user data.

1. Pre‑Release Review

The following must be reviewed prior to release to the public:

  • Separate applications or websites

  • Updates for nonurgent or minor security patches or feature updates to existing applications and websites

  • New webpages for existing websites

2. Post‑Release Review

The following may be reviewed prior or thirty to sixty days after release to the public:

  • Urgent or critical security patches.

3. Random Audits

Random audits may be conducted for small apps or exempt software. Such audits may cover all related software or only for updates and patches to said software.

D. Handling of Closed-Source Code

Mandatory procedures below:

  • May only be viewed, never copied, edited, or stored.

  • Analysis environments must be temporary, sandboxed, and auto‑destroyed, unless such code necessarily needs to be run on specific hardware, which must be disconnected from government servers or machines.

  • Only compliance metadata and a descriptive report may be retained.

E. Transparency Reports

  • Must disclose:

    • Types of data collected

    • Manner of data collection

    • Explanations of code in relation to data collection and user privacy

      • May include code relating to trade secrets, but not reveal the code itself unless:

        • Violations involve criminal conduct

        • Public interest necessitates disclosure

          • Only upon consensus of the directors.

F. Law Enforcement Boundaries

  • Law enforcement may not access reviewed code or privacy reports except:

    • When a violation indicates probable cause of criminal activity

      • Potential violators may appeal such indications and must remove problematic code at the discretion of the directors to avoid involving law enforcement.

      • Violators must be reviewed again and reported to law enforcement upon further violations.

    • A public notice is issued showing specific legal violations being referred

VI. Compliance and Penalties

  • Noncompliance penalties include:

    • Fines up to 10% of global revenues and 15% of global profits

    • Removal from “app stores”

    • Mandatory public violation notices

    • Class-action rights for harmed consumers

  • Repeated violations require release of all source-code to the public.

VII. Summary of Privacy framework

  • Source code cannot be stored, edited, or copied

  • Independent NGO oversight by relevant organizations

  • Public transparency reports compiling with trade secrets

  • Clear statutory limits on law enforcement involvement

  • Mandatory removal of code from government hands after review

  • Public disclosures required before law enforcement referrals and opportunity for appeal

  • Prohibition on hiring staff from data-collecting or technology related businesses

Notes

Closed-source non-profit software is notably excluded from this entire framework and that is simply due the fact that it is very rare to have software be free, doesn’t collect data, and has no ads without being open-source, and such software is usually benign.

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