SIIA Seeks Vermont Veto of Data Broker Privacy Bill
Veto Vermont's data-broker privacy bill (HB-764), urged the Software and Information Industry Association in an eight-page letter to Gov. Phil Scott (R) that SIIA shared with us Friday. "Amendments to its text notwithstanding, the bill remains constitutionally defective and violates…
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both the First Amendment and the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution," SIIA General Counsel Christopher Mohr wrote in the Thursday letter. "It imposes prohibited burdens on free speech and business while doing nothing to protect privacy." Mohr earlier said SIIA would seek veto of the bill that was passed May 12 (see 1805140060). The definition of a data broker who must register with the state is too broad, potentially capturing the author of an e-book of a biography about a Vermont public figure, he said. It also could include "companies that provide detection tools used by law enforcement and antiterrorism authorities," he said. But its requirement that the data broker is an entity that sells or licenses information means the bill wouldn't cover one who gives away private information for free on an ad-supported website, Mohr said. Also, the Vermont bill would unlawfully impose obligations on conduct occurring outside the state, SIIA said. Scott didn't comment.