1. United States
  2. N.Y.
  3. Letter

Request for Legislation: Ban Sale of Employee Data to AI Companies

To: Sen. Schumer, Sen. Gillibrand, Rep. Mannion

From: A verified voter in Syracuse, NY

October 14

I'm writing as a constituent deeply concerned about a growing threat to American workers' privacy. Right now, there's a booming market where employee data—our emails, Slack messages, internal documents—is being bought and sold to train AI models without our consent or knowledge. Recent reporting shows tech brokers are making six-figure offers to companies to purchase worker data. Once acquired, this information gets resold to major AI developers. We found out about our data being sold after the fact—if at all. What troubles me most is that current federal law leaves virtually no protections here. Employers can sign away employee data simply with their signature. The promised "anonymization" is often self-verified by parties paid by the buyer, not independent oversight. There have even been cases of stolen company data being offered for millions. Some companies have faced internal revolts over this practice. Others, including SpaceX, have openly told employees their data will train corporate AI systems. Yet workers themselves never profit from—or even control—what's done with their digital footprints. I urge you to draft and support legislation that explicitly prohibits the sale of employee data for AI training purposes. At minimum, this should require informed, opt-in consent from affected workers before any such transfer occurs. This isn't about stopping innovation—it's about basic privacy rights. The people generating this data should have a say in how it's used, especially when that use benefits billion-dollar companies while they receive nothing. I'd appreciate knowing your position on this issue and whether you plan to co-sponsor or champion any related legislation. Thank you for your time and service.

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