Consumer Reports supports, if it is significantly amended, S.B. 754. The bill would extend to Rhode Island 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 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 Rhode Islanders deserve. Our suggestions include:
- Supplementing authorized agent rights with a universal opt-out provision
- Broadening opt-out rights to include all data sharing and ensuring targeted advertising is adequately covered.
- Eliminating the loyalty program exemption.
- Limiting authentication requirements to request to access, correct, and delete.
- Applying authorized agent provisions to rights to access, correct, and delete.
- Eliminating entity level sectoral carveouts for HIPAA and GLBA covered entities.
- Including strong civil rights protections.
For the full letter, please see the attached PDF.