Washington – In his State of the Union address President Biden pointed to signs of economic progress, but then criticized companies contributing to that success. Digital services in the connected economy help combat inflation with lower prices, and U.S. tech leadership produced $684 billion in digitally-enabled exports in 2021 alone.
In his address, President Biden also appealed to Congress to enact legislation with regard to children online, consumer privacy, and digital competition.
The Computer & Communications Industry Association has been advocating for baseline federal privacy rules online for two decades and for policies that enable a competitive U.S. tech industry for more than 50 years.
The following can be attributed to CCIA President Matt Schruers:
“The U.S. tech sector is a bright spot in the economy. American innovation that is the envy of the world is possible with a regulatory system that protects consumers from harm, not competitors from competition. American companies compete with rivals around the world and this matters for both the economy and national security. Some of the regulatory proposals that failed in the previous Congress would not only have endangered U.S. companies’ ability to compete with firms abroad, but would weaken national security.”
“CCIA agrees with President Biden that children deserve an enhanced level of security and privacy online. The digital sector is incorporating protective design features into websites and apps, leading the way in raising the standard for teen safety and privacy with new features, settings, parental tools, and protections that are age-appropriate and tailored to the differing developmental needs of young people.”
“CCIA also reiterates its call for baseline federal privacy legislation that would make the internet safer for all users, particularly children. We urge Congress to act to give consumers greater protection and businesses greater certainty for how data is to be used and collected, enabling regulators to focus on those particular bad actors, both at home and abroad.”