Pallone Says Feb. 26 Hearing a Start for 'Comprehensive Privacy' Bill
The House Consumer Protection Subcommittee’s Feb. 26 hearing is a starting point for developing “comprehensive privacy legislation,” House Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, D-N.J., told reporters Wednesday, the day the hearing was announced. Asked if he has his own privacy bill in the works, Pallone said, “We’re working on it, but we want to have the hearings, and we’re gradually putting something together.”
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California Democratic Reps. Anna Eshoo and Zoe Lofgren are developing their own privacy bill, they told us separately Wednesday. Neither offered specifics about the measure, which hasn’t been publicly announced.
Asked if he’s getting any pressure from the California delegation to develop a privacy bill, House Commerce Committee ranking member Greg Walden, R-Ore., told reporters California “rightfully” wants to defend its law. It’s possible lawmakers could improve it at the federal level, he said, citing issues with California’s law and the EU’s general data protection regulation. Walden said he discussed privacy with Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Roger Wicker, R-Miss., part of a bipartisan committee group working on legislation. Walden said he needs to meet with Pallone because a bipartisan effort would be best. Asked about pressure from California, Pallone said, “Nobody’s pressuring me.”
“I never like to pre-empt state law. ... We have, but I always prefer not to,” Pallone said. Walden said a state-by-state system probably isn't the best approach: “We need a federal system, and I think we could find, and should find, common ground to do that before the end of the year.” Other stakeholders also seek a federal approach (see 1902130017).
Pallone also released a GAO report Wednesday recommending Congress consider developing comprehensive privacy legislation. The report said lawmakers should consider granting the FTC or relevant agencies “notice-and-comment rulemaking authority” and “first-time violation civil penalty authority.” Granting those authorities “could enhance the federal government’s ability to protect consumer privacy,” the report said.
Most tech industry stakeholders favor the FTC’s “current approach -- direct enforcement of its unfair and deceptive practices statutory authority,” the GAO said. Most former FTC commissioners and others believe the agency should be able to levy fines for initial violations, GAO said. Industry stakeholders highlighted the pro-innovation “benefits of data collection,” while consumer groups and others “emphasized concerns” about users’ lack of control or understanding about data collection, the report said.
The overview responded to the Facebook-Cambridge Analytica privacy breach and other breaches. GAO interviewed industry, consumer advocates and academia, plus FTC and FCC staff, former commissioners and federal oversight officials.
Companies included Facebook, Google, Apple, Verizon, Comcast, Charter Communications, TripAdvisor and DuckDuckGo. Consumer groups included the Center for Democracy and Technology, Center for Digital Democracy and Public Knowledge. Agencies included the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and NTIA. Industry groups included the Internet Association, NCTA, USTelecom and WTA.
Privacy legislation should address private sector data practices that “jeopardize civil rights,” some 44 public interest, civil rights, racial justice and consumer groups wrote Congress Wednesday. The group includes PK, CDT, CDD, the Electronic Privacy Information Center, American Civil Liberties Union and NAACP. Voter suppression and misinformation, housing/employment discrimination, predatory lending, tech literacy exploitation and discriminatory policing practices were cited. Software & Information Industry Association CEO Jeff Joseph said the letter "addresses significant questions about the potential for discrimination from the use of data analytics and many other digital tools."