Retailers support new privacy bill

A newly introduced bill would establish uniform national standards for privacy law, a goal long sought by retailers, particularly national chains that operate in most if not all states.

The Information Transparency and Personal Data Control Act, introduced in the House by Rep. Suzan DelBene, D-Wash, would give consumers new control over the use of their sensitive personal information while providing businesses with a uniform framework on the collection, processing and disclosure of data. The National Retail Federation welcomed the bill, saying it offers a balanced approach that has been missing in earlier measures considered in Congress.  

“The principles embodied by this legislation are critical to ensuring enactment of a balanced federal privacy law that benefits consumers and businesses alike,” NRF senior VP for government relations David French said. “By standardizing comprehensive privacy rules, the Act protects consumer data no matter where a consumer lives or which business handles the data.”

Under the terms of the bill, consumers would have the right to opt out of the use of non-sensitive personal information in a way that would allow businesses to continue to provide products and services consumers expect. For sensitive personal information, businesses would be required to obtain a user’s opt-in approval, which processors and third parties would also be required to honor downstream.

The bill would also apply to all entities that handle sensitive personal information, unlike past privacy legislation that has routinely exempted some of the nation’s largest handlers of consumer data. Those “pitfalls of past federal privacy bills” would have allowed such businesses to avoid “the same standards that applied to Main Street businesses,” French stated in a letter of support sent to DelBene, who chairs the pro-innovation New Democrat Coalition. 

A uniform and comprehensive federal law would protect consumers everywhere while ensuring that nationwide businesses can apply those protections equally for consumers regardless of the state where they live, the NRF said.