Consumer Groups Want in on Privacy Hearing

Consumer privacy advocates are less than thrilled that Senate Commerce Committee leaders declined to invite them to an upcoming hearing on data privacy. 28 privacy groups wrote to Commerce Commerce Chairman John Thune (R-SD) and Ranking Member Bill Nelson (D-FL) that they "do not understand why the Committee has chosen to exclude the voice of consumers." They called on the senators to invite them or hold additional hearings with them. “We don’t believe the country will hear the ‘real story’ on how companies like Google are working to further erode privacy in the US and what should be done about it,” said Center for Digital Democracy Executive Director Jeff Chester. “A second hearing would be far less impactful than have privacy groups at the same table,” said Nathan White, senior legislative manager for AccessNow. In a separate letter, AccessNow issued its own privacy recommendations. While the group calls for some of the same guidelines tech trade groups favor — data breach notification, data portability between platforms — it also seeks more aggressive measures, such as “pursuing the development of an independent data protection commission with authority over implementation of the law as well as ability to conduct investigations and issue sanctions.”