Will We Get a National Privacy Law?

For you military types, BLUF (Bottom Line Up Front): probably not.

There are a number of reasons for my pessimism, including one I hadn’t considered.

First the obvious reasons.

The end of this legislative session is right around the corner and there are a lot of things that the folks in power want to get done before it ends and this is not at the top of the list.

The current bill does not allow states to implement stronger privacy protections. This is what big campaign donors want, so it is unlikely to change. This means that contrary to politicians pandering to states’ rights, they only want states’ rights when it suits their purpose, such as with abortion bans. That means, unlike laws such as HIPAA, which allow states to implement stronger health care privacy laws, if this bill becomes law, whatever is there in the federal bill, likely severely weakened by lobbyists throwing around buckets of hundred dollar bills, is the most you will get.

There will be no private right to sue. This means that either only the feds or, maybe, the states Attorneys General will be able to sue. That means that maybe one in ten thousand cases will actually face litigation. While this eliminates nuisance lawsuits, the courts are already pretty good at dismissing them early on. Not perfect, for sure – it depends on the judge. Again, big donors like this because it means even if they break the law, unless it is done very publicly there is no risk. Ever get a robocall? I didn’t think so because they are illegal for the most part. I rest my case.

Next, the data broker industry doesn’t want it. If people opt out of data collection, their business gets flushed down the toilet – no data, no sales.

Advertisers don’t want it. For similar reasons. Targeted advertising works much better than random advertising. Putting ads for diapers in front of me won’t result in any sales. Wasted ad dollars. On the other hand, maybe I might buy a new computer.

Businesses also buy this data for many reasons, so they don’t want any limits on what data is collected or how it is used. An example is the Madison Square Garden Company, who uses it to identify people that they want to kick out of their venues for a variety of reasons.

Here is the most important part. The part I had not considered. The government uses all of the data that web sites, applications and data brokers collect. If you can easily opt out of that collection of your data, those folks won’t have the pile of data that the government wants to buy.

Why does the government buy your data? Lots of reason including law enforcement and identity verification, among other reasons. Also, if they buy it on the commercial market, they don’t need to ask a judge for a warrant – they just go out and buy it like everyone else.

So, will we see a national privacy law this year? I don’t think so.

On the other hand, I do think we will see more state privacy laws in 2023. That is a hassle for businesses because no two state laws are the same, making compliance harder.

Stay tuned; this is far from over.

Credit: Politico

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