The U.S. Chamber of Commerce on Thursday released its Privacy Principles, in which it urged Congress to adopt a “federal privacy framework that preempts state law on matters concerning data privacy in order to provide certainty and consistency to consumers and businesses alike.”
According to the group, consumers and businesses benefit when there is certainty and consistency with regard to regulations and enforcement of privacy protections. They lose when they have to navigate a confusing and inconsistent patchwork of state laws.
In the wake of the Facebook Cambridge Analytica scandal where a political group accessed millions of user data without notice, California passed the toughest privacy laws in the country so far.
The group urged flexibility when it comes to achieving the privacy principles. According to them, “privacy laws and regulations should be flexible and not include mandates that require businesses to use specific technological solutions or other mechanisms to implement consumer protections. A federal privacy law should include safe harbors and other incentives to promote the development of adaptable, consumer-friendly privacy programs.”
The group also encouraged greater leniency towards businesses when it comes to the enforcement of privacy laws.
“Congress should encourage collaboration as opposed to an adversarial enforcement system. A reasonable opportunity for businesses to cure deficiencies in their privacy compliance practices before government takes punitive action would encourage greater transparency and cooperation between businesses and regulators,” the group stated.
“In order to facilitate this collaboration, a federal privacy framework should not create a private right of action for privacy enforcement, which would divert company resources to litigation that does not protect consumers.”
