CDT VP of Policy Samir Jain Testimony Before U.S. House Energy & Commerce Committee on “Legislative Solutions to Protect Kids Online and Ensure Americans’ Data Privacy Rights”
On Wednesday, April 17, 2024 CDT VP of Policy Samir Jain is testifying before the U.S. House of Representatives Energy & Commerce Committee in a hearing titled “Legislative Solutions to Protect Kids Online and Ensure Americans’ Data Privacy Rights.”
A summary of Jain’s testimony is pasted below, and you can read the full testimony here.
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In Jain’s testimony, he explains that the bipartisan, bicameral American Privacy Rights Act (APRA) presents a renewed opportunity to finish the long-overdue job of passing a federal privacy law — and good context to provide further protections for kids, and a necessary foundation for addressing policy challenges around AI.
Jain illustrates that today’s data ecosystem victimizes Americans, why AI has accelerated the need for a federal privacy law, and why such a law is also a national security imperative. He also discusses elements of APRA that are essential to any effective privacy law, including data minimization requirements, civil rights protections, restrictions on data brokers, and meaningful provisions for enforcement at scale.
Jain further notes that APRA is not flawless. He calls for the law to, among other things: include additional privacy protections for children (while not passing laws that restrict access to content or require age verification, which may raise constitutional concerns); extend its scope to government service providers; be clearer in its language around advertising; and provide stricter requirements for data brokers.
