34 Civil Rights, Consumer, and Privacy Organizations Unite to Release Principles for Privacy Legislation

34 civil rights, consumer, and privacy organizations join in releasing public interest principles for privacy legislation, because the public needs and deserves strong and comprehensive federal legislation to protect their privacy and afford meaningful redress.

Irresponsible data practices lead to a broad range of harms, including discrimination in employment, housing, healthcare, and advertising. They also lead to data breaches and loss of individuals’ control over personal information. Existing enforcement mechanisms fail to hold data processors accountable and provide little-to-no relief for privacy violations.

The privacy principles outline four concepts that any meaningful data protection legislation should incorporate at a minimum:

• Privacy protections must be strong, meaningful, and comprehensive.
• Data practices must protect civil rights, prevent unlawful discrimination, and advance equal opportunity.
• Governments at all levels should play a role in protecting and enforcing privacy rights.
• Legislation should provide redress for privacy violations.