At Capitol Hill event, leading business organizations and small business owners join TechNet in calling for an end to the growing state privacy patchwork

Washington, D.C. – Today, 27 organizations from across our economy joined TechNet, the national, bipartisan network of innovation economy CEOs and senior executives, to relaunch United for Privacy with a kick-off event on Capitol Hill. The event included lawmakers, small business owners, and organizations representing the entire U.S. economy discussing the need for a federal data privacy law. United for Privacy is a TechNet-led initiative that brings together a unified, cross-industry voice underscoring the urgent need to end the growing state privacy patchwork and pass a federal data privacy law.

“Securing a bipartisan deal on a national data privacy and security standard is a top priority of mine. The growing patchwork [of state privacy laws] is unworkable, it’s harming innovation, and it fails to adequately protect people’s privacy online. It’s crucial Congress acts to ensure there’s one standard that works for all businesses,” said Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), Chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, in prepared video remarks.

“We need to get legislation out there,” said Representative Suzan DelBene (D-WA). “We need to build support for it, and we need to get it through committee. That’s really a first step. I’ve been engaged with folks on [the House] Energy and Commerce [Committee], too, pushing to make sure we are getting strong legislation out there and building on the progress we made last Congress.”

“Without preemption, Congress would not be passing a national privacy law, they’d just be passing the 51st law,” said Linda Moore, President and CEO of TechNet, who moderated a panel on the impact the patchwork of state privacy laws is having on small businesses and startups. “We have to change that. One of the outcomes of the current patchwork is that the largest companies will get an even greater market share because smaller companies can’t afford the compliance costs. That’s the opposite effect that lawmakers want to have.”

Addressing how small businesses navigate the privacy patchwork, small business owner Parag Shah, Co-Founder of Vemos, said, “Very, very difficult to navigate. From a purely software perspective, I think that we forget that software is very complex. It is like selling a physical product to someone that lives in Texas, and then they take that physical product and they bring it to Wisconsin. And you just assume that this physical product would have to morph itself in some different way automatically and be built to change based on that [location]. We’d all laugh at that concept happening but that’s essentially what software is being asked to do.”

“We are all here because we are united for privacy,” said Paul Lekas, Head of Global Public Policy at the Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA). “Like the other 27 members of the United for Privacy coalition, we’ve all called for a federal privacy bill. We believe it is essential to offer a stronger information ecosystem and provide certainty to consumers and businesses alike.”

“We are an association of more than 200 CEOs of America’s leading companies, representing every sector of the U.S. economy, supporting 1 in 4 American jobs, and almost a quarter of the U.S. GDP,” said Amy Shuart, Vice President, Technology and Innovation at the Business Roundtable. “Data is essential to our economy as you heard today and that’s why our member companies care so deeply about data privacy.”

Earlier this week, the coalition sent a letter to Congress highlighting the urgent need for a federal data privacy law. Today’s event and the relaunch of the United for Privacy coalition comes as the patchwork of state privacy laws continues to grow. Eight states have passed a data privacy law this year: Delaware*, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Montana, Oregon*, Tennessee, and Texas. California, Colorado, Connecticut, Utah, and Virginia previously enacted privacy laws, bringing the total to 13. Since 2018, 182 comprehensive privacy bills have been considered across 46 states.

This patchwork is confusing consumers and having a chilling effect on our economy.  According to a study by the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation (ITIF) last year, failing to pass a federal data privacy law will cost our economy more than $1 trillion over ten years, with $200 billion being paid by small businesses.

A federal data privacy law is overwhelmingly popular with American voters and has broad bipartisan support. Polls show 83% of all voters, including 86% of Democrats and 81% of Republicans, support the passage of a federal data privacy law. Congress made great progress last year and now is the time to seize that momentum and pass a federal data privacy bill that works for all Americans.

In addition to TechNet, the #UnitedForPrivacy coalition includes ACT | The App Association, the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, the American Escrow Association, the American Financial Services Association, the Association of National Advertisers, BSA | The Software Alliance, the Business Roundtable, the California Life Sciences Association, Chamber of Progress, the Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA), the Consumer Technology Association, the Developers Alliance, the Electronic Transactions Association, Engine, the Entertainment Software Association, the Information Technology Industry Council (ITI), the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), the Marketplace Industry Association, the National Apartment Association, the National Business Coalition on E-Commerce and Privacy, the National Electrical Manufacturers Association, the National Multifamily Housing Council, NetChoice, the Security Industry Association, the Software and Information Industry Association, TECNA, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Go to endtheprivacypatchwork.com for more information.

*Awaiting signature of Governor