CR letter to E&C re ADPPA AINS
Consumer Reports writes to commend the work of this committee in trying to enact federal privacy legislation and to recommend improvements to the text to make sure the bill works as intended. We appreciate the constructive dialogue we have had with the Committee both about the initial draft bill released on June 3rd as well as about the Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute (“AINS”) passed by the Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Commerce on June 23rd. Consumer Reports has long argued that federal privacy protections are long overdue, and we support the bipartisan negotiations to develop a consensus solution to these pressing issues. The bill includes important protections for consumers — including new civil rights protections to safeguard consumers from discrimination — that are desperately needed in a society where every click and footstep can be recorded, analyzed, and sold without any consumer awareness or control. However, the structure of the bill raises questions about how effective the data minimization standard will be in practice.
For the full letter, please see the attached PDF.