Consumer Reports supports, if it is amended, H.B. 1201, Pennsylvania consumer privacy legislation. The bill would extend to Pennsylvania consumers important new protections, including the right to know the information companies have collected about them, the right to access, correct, and delete that information, as well as the ability to require businesses to honor universal opt out preference signals and authorized agents’ opt-out requests.
However, the legislation still contains significant loopholes that would hinder its overall effectiveness. We offer several suggestions to strengthen the bill to provide the level of protection that Pennsylvania consumers deserve. Our suggestions include:
- Broadening opt-out rights to include all data sharing and ensuring targeted advertising is adequately covered.
- Eliminating the loyalty program exemption.
- Applying authorized agent provisions to rights to access, correct, and delete.
- Removing certain limitations on universal opt out mechanisms.
- Eliminating entity level sectoral carveouts.
- Including strong civil rights protections.
For the full letter, please see the attached PDF.