State Rep. Abdelnasser Rashid, D-Bridgeview, is working to increase online privacy protections by introducing the Illinois Data Protection and Privacy Act which would cut down on the dangerous collection, and restrict sharing and sales of personal information.  Rashid’s bill comes at a moment when many states are considering privacy regulations. Modeled off the bipartisan American Data Protection and Privacy Act that was introduced in Congress last year, the Illinois Data Protection and Privacy Act is one of the strongest pieces of privacy legislation nationally, seeking to put meaningful controls in place to regulate the data industry.  More attention has been drawn in recent years to the data industry’s widespread harvesting of personal information like demographics, browsing and search histories, and past purchases. Companies like data brokers and marketers gather, sell and share this information rapidly, often without consumers’ knowledge.  If passed, the bill would provide even greater privacy protections to Illinois residents, joining the Biometric Information Privacy Act as one of the strongest in the nation. “Illinois is already a national leader in privacy, and we are going to continue that legacy by passing a strong data protection law,” said Rashid.