Data Privacy Hearing Scheduled by Senate Commerce Committee

A panel of six major technology companies including Google and Amazon will speak at a U.S. Senate Commerce Committee panel on September 26, 2018, according to a congressional statement. The hearing on Examining Safeguards for Consumer Data Privacy will start in two weeks on Wednesday at 10 AM.

The current witness list is:

Mr. Len Cali, SVP—Global Public Policy, AT&T Inc.
Mr. Andrew DeVore, VP and Associate General Counsel, Amazon.com, Inc.
Mr. Keith Enright, CPO, Google LLC
Mr. Damian Kieran, Global DPO and Associate Legal Director, Twitter, Inc.
Mr. Guy (Bud) Tribble, VP for Software Technology, Apple Inc.
Ms. Rachel Welch, SVP, Policy & External Affairs, Charter Communications, Inc.

U.S. Senator John Thune (R-SD), chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, will convene the hearing. In the Congressional release, he said: “Consumers deserve clear answers and standards on data privacy protection.” “This hearing will provide leading technology companies and internet service providers an opportunity to explain their approaches to privacy, how they plan to address new requirements from the European Union and California, and what Congress can do to promote clear privacy expectations without hurting innovation.”

Senator Thune has previously said that he was working on data privacy legislation to introduce into the Senate. Following his announcement, a bipartisan group of Senators from the Commerce Committee said they were also working on language for potential legislation and offered to join forces. It is unclear whether the five senators are now working together or if they will ultimately produce two separate pieces of legislation.

There are already a number of draft laws in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives on data privacy, including the BROWSER Act, the CONSENT Act, the APPS Act, the DATA Act, the Secure and Protect Americans’ Data Act, the Social Media Privacy and Consumer Rights Act, and the Do Not Track Kids Act.

The White House has said they are working on their own data privacy policy for Congress and would release it this fall. They have had a number of discussions with businesses and organizations starting this summer. Both the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) also have initiatives running this fall on privacy. NIST is working on a voluntary privacy framework for businesses similar to its cybersecurity framework. The FTC is holding public hearings on its policy priorities surrounding privacy, consumer protection and competition in the 21st century.

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