Consumer Reports filed comments in response to the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Request for Information on considerations for a federal comprehensive data privacy and security framework. In its response, CR urged the Committee to:
- Preserve the ability of states — who have been the leaders on privacy while Congress has stalled for decades — to respond to emerging threats by enacting and enforcing their own rules on privacy and security,
- Base any privacy framework on the principle of data minimization to ensure that consumers’ personal information is protected by default, and
- Provide for robust enforcement by funding and empowering the Federal Trade Commission and ensuring consumers can take action against wrongdoers themselves without waiting for the government to take action.