Putting Privacy Bills in Perspective
In an op-ed for Ars Technica today, CDT Consumer Privacy Director Justin Brookman puts the recent spate of privacy bills introduced by Congress in perspective.
After far too many years in which there’s been a disconcerting lack of interest or movement from Capitol Hill, privacy has suddenly become one of the most popular issues in the 112th Congress. Members from both sides of the aisle have introduced privacy bills, making this the rare issue that enjoys bipartisan agreement.
The question now becomes whether the US will abandon its position – shared with Turkey – as one of only two developed countries lacking a comprehensive privacy law. In his op-ed, Brookman explains why the chances of enacting baseline privacy rules have never been better, as well as why the need has never been more dire.
With tremendous attention to privacy issues and widespread consumer support for basic consumer protections, we have the best opportunity in memory to enact basic rules to give people control of their personal information and to give them confidence in an increasingly complex data ecosystem.