Following a historically light touch when it comes to regulation, Congress is now cracking down on data mining.

Congressional oversight of tech companies like Facebook, Instagram, Google and the like has typically been focused on moderating for political bias.

“But in an abrupt reversal this week, Congress is holding oversight hearings, and lawmakers are proposing new regulations in a crackdown on how big tech companies use and resell their customers' personal information,” according to the article.

Democrats in Congress argue that “self-regulation” hasn’t worked, according to the article, and that data is now being regularly collected about exceedingly personal information without user knowledge or consent.

The companies’ algorithms also collect data from third-party apps, meaning that just because someone has closed out of Facebook, for example, doesn’t mean they’re personal data isn’t still accessible.

For franchisers in the restaurant industry, these regulations could have a significant impact on the way they do business. Increasingly, brands are using anonymized data to identify buying habits and construct buyer personas, the aggregation of which directs everything from marketing campaigns to real estate for future units.

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