A number of tech giants have joined forces in an attempt to influence what a potential new US federal privacy law should look like.
Representatives from Amazon, Apple, AT&T, Google, Twitter and Charter Communications put their case to members of Congress at a Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation hearing earlier this month, according to CNet. Momentum has been growing recently for the creation of a federal data privacy law as public concern over data abuse reaches boiling point.
During the hearing, the Senate Committee discussed whether elements of the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and California's Consumer Privacy Act, which came into force in July, should be incorporated into US federal legislation.
The tough new laws have triggered fears in Silicon Valley that US federal and other state law makers will follow suit. As a result, the tech companies have been engaging with politicians to try and influence future legislation.
GDPR, for example, forces tech companies to follow stricter rules such as opt-in standards, 72-hour breach notifications and fines when privacy rules are broken. None of the six tech companies that took part in the Senate want to see such measures incorporated into federal law, and are all pushing for a watered-down version.
They are also against data privacy laws that vary from state to state, warning it would create confusion and “a logistical nightmare”.
AT&T senior vice president of global public policy Len Cali told the hearing: "What we're urging is a comprehensive federal law that looks at both these laws, learns from them, but does better than them."
But according to JD Supra, Republican Senator John Thune warned: “While the experience of such companies is important to consider…the next federal privacy law will not be written by industry”.
Pointing to the recent Cambridge Analytica and Google Plus scandals, he said the US needed federal legislation to control how consumers’ personal information is used and protected, adding it was “increasingly clear that industry self-regulation in this area is not sufficient”.
Experts questioned at the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, hearing included Laura Moy, executive director of the Center on Privacy and Technology at Georgetown Law. She said that many consumers feel “powerless” when it comes to controlling their personal information and that legislation was required to deal with the problem.
Andrea Jelinek, chair of the European Data Protection Board, suggested that the EU’s GDPR law could help to inspire US legislation, as it is “carefully calibrated so as not to hinder economic development, while keeping in mind the fundamental right of the individuals”.
Gill Oliver is a business and property journalist who has written for The Daily Mail/Mail Online's This is Money, The Press Association and many national and regional newspapers and magazines.
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A number of tech giants have joined forces in an attempt to influence what a potential new US federal privacy law should look like.
Representatives from Amazon, Apple, AT&T, Google, Twitter and Charter Communications put their case to members of Congress at a Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation hearing earlier this month, according to CNet. Momentum has been growing recently for the creation of a federal data privacy law as public concern over data abuse reaches boiling point.
During the hearing, the Senate Committee discussed whether elements of the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and California's Consumer Privacy Act, which came into force in July, should be incorporated into US federal legislation.
The tough new laws have triggered fears in Silicon Valley that US federal and other state law makers will follow suit. As a result, the tech companies have been engaging with politicians to try and influence future legislation.
GDPR, for example, forces tech companies to follow stricter rules such as opt-in standards, 72-hour breach notifications and fines when privacy rules are broken. None of the six tech companies that took part in the Senate want to see such measures incorporated into federal law, and are all pushing for a watered-down version.
They are also against data privacy laws that vary from state to state, warning it would create confusion and “a logistical nightmare”.
AT&T senior vice president of global public policy Len Cali told the hearing: "What we're urging is a comprehensive federal law that looks at both these laws, learns from them, but does better than them."
But according to JD Supra, Republican Senator John Thune warned: “While the experience of such companies is important to consider…the next federal privacy law will not be written by industry”.
Pointing to the recent Cambridge Analytica and Google Plus scandals, he said the US needed federal legislation to control how consumers’ personal information is used and protected, adding it was “increasingly clear that industry self-regulation in this area is not sufficient”.
Experts questioned at the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, hearing included Laura Moy, executive director of the Center on Privacy and Technology at Georgetown Law. She said that many consumers feel “powerless” when it comes to controlling their personal information and that legislation was required to deal with the problem.
Andrea Jelinek, chair of the European Data Protection Board, suggested that the EU’s GDPR law could help to inspire US legislation, as it is “carefully calibrated so as not to hinder economic development, while keeping in mind the fundamental right of the individuals”.
Gill Oliver is a business and property journalist who has written for The Daily Mail/Mail Online's This is Money, The Press Association and many national and regional newspapers and magazines.
OTHER ARTICLES THAT MAY INTEREST YOU
Major US tech companies attempt to take on California's privacy law
California is first US state to pass GDPR-like law
Seven tips for getting on top of GDPR
