Washington — The technology sector praises the House Judiciary Committee for scheduling a markup of the Judicial Redress Act (H.R. 1428) this Thursday. The trade organizations listed below have been leading supporters of the Judicial Redress Act since its introduction in April, and strongly urge members to pass the bill out of committee.
The Judicial Redress Act would allow Europeans and citizens of other designated allies to request corrections of inaccuracies in data held by certain federal agencies, verify that their data has not been improperly disclosed, and seek civil judicial recourse in the alternative.
The last two years have seen a significant erosion of global public trust in both the U.S. government and the U.S. technology sector. Industry advocates see passage of the Judicial Redress Act as a much needed step towards a restoration of the public confidence necessary for the continued economic growth tied to transatlantic data flows.
The Judicial Redress Act is also key to the final approval of the long-negotiated “umbrella” agreement on data transfers for law enforcement purposes between the U.S. and EU. This markup comes a week after senior U.S. and EU negotiators finalized the terms of the framework. Because the redress rights the Judicial Redress Act would provide are a prerequisite to final approval of the “umbrella” agreement, its passage is now the last remaining step before the agreement can be concluded.
In addition to strong backing from U.S. industry, the Judicial Redress Act enjoys the support of the Department of Justice and federal law enforcement agencies.
Passage of the bill will serve as a clear signal to our European allies that they can feel confident and comfortable sharing critical law enforcement and commercial information across the Atlantic.
Yesterday, the tech industry sent a letter thanking the Judiciary Committee’s leadership for its consideration of the bill. Industry representatives previously sent a joint letter to House leaders when Representatives Sensenbrenner and Conyers introduced the Judicial Redress Act in April. That letter was followed in June by one to Senate leadership upon the corresponding introduction of the bill by Senators Hatch and Murphy.
Application Developers Alliance
BSA | The Software Alliance
Computer & Communications Industry Association
Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA)
Consumer Electronics Association
Information Technology Industry Council
Internet Association
Software & Information Industry Association
TechNet
Trans-Atlantic Business Council