Washington — The Computer & Communications Industry Association submitted a letter to House Energy and Commerce’s Consumer Protection Subcommittee ahead of its hearing on “Protecting Consumer Privacy in the Era of Big Data.” CCIA also offered the committee a survey of industry views, highlighting consensus among various privacy proposals.
CCIA said the FTC should be given additional power to police for consumer privacy and that rules should apply uniformly across industry and non-profits. In addition to robust enforcement carried out by the FTC, appropriately balanced federal baseline privacy legislation should be characterized by extensive transparency requirements and meaningful consumer controls.
CCIA issued its “Privacy Principles: A New Framework for Protecting Data and Promoting Innovation” in November 2018, setting out principles for federal action that would ensure that data is handled responsibly and transparently while also ensuring that individuals can benefit from innovation and new technologies.
The following can be attributed to CCIA President & CEO Ed Black:
“We appreciate the Subcommittee’s attention to this issue. A national approach based on core American principles and values offers a better chance of benefiting consumers and companies than a patchwork of 50-different state privacy regulations or an international framework such as Europe’s recent General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).”
“Consumer trust is crucial and tech companies see growing consensus on the need for strong, consistent baseline federal privacy protections that apply across various industries and sectors.
“It’s clear consumers could benefit from more control and transparency about how data is used and the right legislation could give them than while also ensuring they can benefit from innovation and new technologies.”