House Committee Fails to Advance Data Privacy Bill

The House Energy and Commerce Committee failed to advance a bill earlier this week establishing a federal consumer privacy framework, stalling a proposal designed to give Americans more control over their personal data.

The Securing and Establishing Consumer Uniform Rights and Enforcement over (SECURE) Data Act, introduced in April, would create nationwide standards for consumer privacy rights and the protection of personal data, including rights to access, correct, delete and transfer data, and to opt out of certain data uses.

Representative Craig Goldman (R-TX), one of the bill’s co-sponsors, said the legislation would be a “major step forward” in protecting Americans in today’s digital age.

“This bill applies proven privacy and data security standards, first established by states like Texas, to the entire nation,” Rep. Goldman said.

Tyler Bridegan, former director of privacy and technology enforcement for Texas’s attorney general, said the bill requires companies to prove that consumers understand what they’re agreeing to when giving consent to their data.

“It fundamentally shifts the onus onto companies to be able to demonstrate that to the government,” Bridegan said.

However, Ashli Watts, president and CEO of the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, said the bill also benefits small businesses by providing clear guidelines on what must be disclosed to consumers, reducing the chances and costs of potential lawsuits.

“Having a patchwork of laws is very cumbersome and burdensome to them,” Watts said. “It's really important for small businesses, in particular, to be able to grow their business.”

However, Deputy Director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center Caitriona Fitzgerald said the act is missing the “strong civil rights protections” in other legislation like the American Data Privacy and Protection Act and American Privacy Rights Act.

Rep. Marc Veasey (D-TX) added that the bill also bars the FTC from enforcing its own civil rights provision prohibiting discriminatory uses of personal data.

“If a company is using personal data to deny someone a ride or a loan or a job based on race, religion, or political views, who exactly is going to enforce that?” he asked.

Fitzgerald agreed that this caveat is concerning, considering how the FTC has historically been the agency to protect consumers from having their data used against them. According to Fitzgerald, this is “one of many” problematic provisions in the legislation.

“It's unclear who a consumer would go to if they are discriminated against online,” she said.