Proposed federal privacy law could actually threaten data security
On the face of it, when Facebook, Google, Amazon, Apple, AT&T, Charter Communications and Twitter all support a proposed data privacy law, we should be ready to applaud. But there's a catch.
On the face of it, when Facebook, Google, Amazon, Apple, AT&T, Charter Communications and Twitter all support a proposed data privacy law, we should be ready to applaud. But there’s a catch.
In October, representatives from each of these companies stood before the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation to voice their support for such legislation. The catch: A federal bill may result in stronger state privacy laws becoming null and void.
“Any preemption of state consumer privacy laws by Congress could hurt Californians in particular because our laws are stronger here than in most other states,” said Emily Rusch, executive director of CALPIRG.
While data privacy legislation at the federal level is necessary, any stronger state legislation like that in California must, in our view, supersede the federal law. In the words of reporter David Lazarus, “If companies are as committed to protecting people’s information as they say, what do they have to fear?”
Photo Caption: Facebook is an avid supporter of the proposed law, and is responsible for one of the most visible privacy violations in 2018.
Photo Credit: Staff screenshot
