Tech Protests House Changes to Wash. Privacy Bill
Washington state House appropriators were expected to vote Thursday afternoon on state privacy and municipal broadband bills. Earlier at the livestreamed hearing, the tech industry and other businesses told the Appropriations Committee that it’s too hard to comply with last…
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Timely, relevant coverage of court proceedings and agency rulings involving tariffs, classification, valuation, origin and antidumping and countervailing duties. Each day, Trade Law Daily subscribers receive a daily headline email, in-depth PDF edition and access to all relevant documents via our trade law source document library and website.
week’s Judiciary Committee changes to SB-5062, which included adding a private right of action and sunsetting companies’ right to cure (see 2103260034). The American Civil Liberties Union said the bill lacks teeth to ensure compliance. Such disagreement shows the bill is “actually a good compromise,” testified Common Sense Media Director-State Advocacy Joseph Jerome. The Internet Association wants the privacy bill restored to the measure that passed the Senate, said Rose Feliciano, director-state government affairs, Northwest. She complained about “zero public input” on the Judiciary Committee’s changes, echoing comments by Washington Technology Industry Association and Association of Washington Business witnesses. Funding for attorney general enforcement of the privacy bill is “grossly inadequate to address the scope of the problem," said ACLU-Washington attorney Bill Block, citing a fiscal note saying the AG would get support for 1.2 attorneys and 3.6 full-time equivalents (FTEs). “It assumes only three full investigations and no litigation a year.” The private right is toothless because Block doubts individuals will sue if they can’t seek damages, he said. The Washington Independent Telecommunications Association will take a “leap of faith” and support SB-5383 to loosen municipal restrictions if appropriators adopted the committee amendment, said Executive Director Betty Buckley. The Washington Public Utility Districts Association also supported the bill with those changes.