a. What restrictions are there on the gathering and use of consumer data? Summarize restrictions in major markets such as:
GDPR General Data Protection Regulation in Europe
The regulator environment is a lengthy, complex and detailed subject on its own and a very detailed analysis is thus not expected here. Provide a high-level view with a summary table to show what the main areas are that are covered by the regulator the regimes as mentioned and the major differences among them.

B)Describe the current state of consumer data protection and privacy in the US [not just California].
In the current state of the United States, there has been an increase in public and political scrutiny about American data privacy since they lack federal data privacy legislation. Instead of data protection legislation, there are various laws implicated at the state and federal levels to guide the protection of personal data for each individual in the USA (Green, 2020). Recently, there are more than 25 states that have bills and drafts due to a significant increase in data privacy as an impact of the congressional hearings of Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook founder)adddddddddd. Several individuals, like George Soros, who exactly he is argue about the dangers caused by IT monopolies; they earn profits by exploiting their environment and consumers due to the lack of proper regulations (Kanfer, 2017). Due to the harmful and irreversible impacts of the giant social media platforms, various countries have embraced the aspect of setting rules and regulations of consumer protection.

Please see Appendix – Complete Guide to Privacy Laws in the US
Privacy law in the US
Consumer Data protection