Consumer Reports opposes, unless it is amended, Georgia S.B. 473, the Georgia Consumer Privacy Protection Act. The bill seeks to provide to Georgia consumers the right to know the information companies have collected about them, the right to access, correct, and delete that information, as well as the right to stop the disclosure of certain information to third parties. However, in its current form it would do little to protect Georgia consumers’ personal information, or to rein in major tech companies like Google and Facebook. The bill needs to be substantially improved before it is enacted; otherwise, it would risk locking in industry-friendly provisions that avoid actual reform.
We offer several suggestions to strengthen the bill to provide the level of protection that Georgians deserve:
- Require businesses to honor universal opt-outs.
- Remove pseudonymous data loophole
- Broaden opt-out rights to include more types of unwanted data sharing
- Clarify authentication requirements for data rights
- Add civil rights protections.
- Strengthen enforcement.
- Strengthen non-discrimination provisions.
- Narrow the loyalty program exemption.
To read the full letter, please see the attached pdf.