Tech execs who lie about privacy violations could face 20 years behind bars under a newly-proposed Senate bill

• A bill scheduled to be introduced on Thursday in the Senate proposes harsher punishments for tech companies and executives found responsible for privacy violations.
• Under the "Mind Your Own Business Act," tech executives caught lying to the Federal Trade Commission about privacy violations could face up to 20 years in prison.
• The bill would also impose immediate fines on companies who commit privacy violations, rather than the first-time warning currently in place.
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A newly-proposed Senate bill would give the Federal Trade Commission more power to crack down on tech companies found responsible for enabling privacy violations, and threatens up to 20 years of jail time for tech executives who mislead the public about those violations.

The "Mind Your Own Business Act," which is scheduled to be introduced by Oregon Democrat Sen. Ron Wyden on Thursday, proposes harsher penalties for privacy violations than those currently in place, which Wyden believes are insufficient to deter bad behavior.

"Mark Zuckerberg won't take Americans' privacy seriously unless he feels personal consequences," Wyden told Gizmodo. "A slap on the wrist from the FTC won't do the job, so under my bill he'd face jail time for lying to the government."

After Facebook's handling of the massive Cambridge Analytica privacy scandal was investigated by the FTC, the social media giant was fined $5 billion earlier this year as part of a settlement.

While that was the largest FTC fine in history, it paled in comparison to the tech giants' $56 billion in revenue last year. Facebook's stock price actually jumped after the fine was announced.

Here's what Wyden's bill would mandate, per CNN:

• Tech executives who lie to the FTC about misusing Americans' personal information could face up to 20 years in prison.
• Tech companies found responsible of privacy violations could be fined a special tax penalty proportional to their executives' salary.
• The FTC would be have the power to fine companies up to 4% of annual revenues for privacy violations.
• Tech companies would be required to provide users a "one-click" solution to opt out of companies using their personal information to sell targeted ads.
• Tech companies would have to provide free, "privacy friendly" versions of their products for low-income Americans.
• Consumer advocacy groups would have the right to sue companies for privacy violations.

The bill currently does not have any co-sponsors. A spokesperson for Wyden was not immediately available to respond to Business Insider's request for comment.