South Queens, NY – Assemblywoman Stacey Pheffer Amato (D-South Queens) announced that she has reintroduced her Data Dividend bill, A.946. The bill will require tech companies who profit off consumers’ data to contribute a portion of their income into a new mutual fund created by the state. Taxpayers would receive a yearly dividend for companies’ use of their data.

“The Science and Technology Committee was created to handle issues like this, and consumers deserve to profit from the use of their own data,” Pheffer Amato said. “Every time we use social media or a navigation app, our information is sold. While tech companies use our data, New York taxpayers should receive funds from profits we create.”

There are other examples of commodity-based dividends already in existence, including the Alaskan Permanent Fund which levies a 25% tax on oil revenues in the state that goes into a mutual fund, where the dividends are distributed to all taxpayers in Alaska. This marks the second term that Pheffer Amato has introduced this legislation, starting with the 2019-2020 session. A.946 is currently in the Ways and Means Committee, and the Senate version of the bill, S.3790, has been introduced by Sen. Leroy Comrie.