Microsoft chief backs US federal privacy law

Bloomberg

Microsoft Corp.’s Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella called for national privacy legislation, days after Google became the latest tech giant to reveal a security flaw, potentially exposing personal data.
“We hope that there’s more of a national privacy law,” Nadella said in an interview with Bloomberg News at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, where he discussed leadership with midshipmen.
Nadella characterized privacy as “a human right.” Tech companies are already facing tough new European privacy rules that went into effect in May, while California passed a strict data privacy law in June. A national law is preferable to legislation forged by individual states and would reduce “transactional costs” to the benefit of companies large and small, Nadella said.
His comments reflect growing ferment around privacy following failures by tech companies.
Senator John Thune, a South Dakota Republican and the chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, said at a hearing earlier that Congress is contemplating privacy legislation.
Alphabet Inc.’s Google became the latest example of flawed privacy protections earlier this week. The company said it found a “ software glitch” in its Google+ social network in March that could have exposed the personal data of as many as half a million users, but decided not to tell the public.