Greetings from Portsmouth, New Hampshire!
It has been a busy week in the privacy world.
Canada dropped a draft federal privacy law, the U.K. responded to draft resolutions, and unless you’ve been stranded somewhere on a lovely sandy beach, the hot topic here in the U.S. remains the draft American Data Privacy and Protection Act.
Earlier this week, the U.S. House Committee of Energy and Commerce's Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Commerce held a hearing on the draft legislation and there was a surprising amount of positivity regarding the bill. IAPP Staff Writer Joe Duball covered the event and opined that there was "a different vibe than what onlookers have become accustomed to when Congress discusses privacy matters." Some common themes raised during the hearing included the draft provisions on children's privacy, data minimization requirements and the potential impacts on small businesses.
While there is a sense of cautious optimism that "this" might be the bill to go where no other federal privacy legislation has gone before, it may have a trickier path winning over certain members of the Senate. Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, signaled in comments to The Washington Post that unless the "they fix the duty of care" in the draft, he will vote no if the bill reaches the Senate. At press time, Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., who opposes the draft bill, had not yet released her counter proposal.
We will keep you posted when it happens.
On an unrelated note, if you haven't had the opportunity to take the IAPP-EY Governance Survey, this is your last chance. The survey examines various aspects of privacy and data protection operations, such as preparedness for legal obligations, privacy spending and the factors that influence an organization’s decisions on data use. The full report will be available in the fall, but in the meantime, we invite you to participate if you have not already.
And if you're looking for something to read this weekend, I invite you take a look at this summer reading list we put together last year.
Enjoy the weekend.