Discussing privacy laws in the United States, Satya Nadella favors a national law. He is not alone and joins an almost universal calling from the tech industry for such a legislation. “We hope that there’s more of a national privacy law,” Nadella said in an interview Bloomberg News. Individual states have already started implementing their own privacy laws. For example, California introduced strict data protection laws in June. Nadella says the laws themselves are not an issue, but individual laws across the country would create more costs. Indeed, Europe’s unified GDPR law has been hugely problematic for companies due to how strict regulations are. However, tech companies seemingly prefer this model over an individual approach. John Thune, a South Dakota Republican and chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee has confirmed Congress may seek nationwide privacy legislation. “It is increasingly clear that industry self-regulation in this area is not sufficient,” Thune said. In September, a Senate hearing involving major tech representatives concluded with companies seeking a national law.
Avoiding Problems
Tech rivals like Facebook and Google have been subjected to major security breaches. Microsoft has been unscathed for the most part and Satya Nadella admits the company has “dodged the bruising that its peers have taken this year.” The CEO says Microsoft has learned from attacks it suffered relatively early, under the Bill Gates era. He says the company now designs products with enhanced security protocols.
