In a letter to the members of the Washington State Senate Ways and Means Committee, consumer and privacy groups including CFA outline their opposition to SB 5376 (Protecting Consumer Data). Strong, enforceable privacy protections are needed now more than ever, due to the widespread, and largely unregulated, sale of consumer data on the open market. Unfortunately, many of SB 5376’s provisions are predicated on fuzzy and debatable notions like “risk” and “compelling business purposes” that fail to protect consumers and don’t offer clear guidance to consumers or businesses. This bill is substantially weaker than privacy legislation recently enacted in California and Europe, and gives companies far too much leeway and control to decide what privacy protections to offer. It should be rejected.
