Business Roundtable Outlines Priorities on Consumer Data Privacy

Cross-Sector Association of CEOs Soon to Release Framework for National Consumer Privacy Law 

Washington – Business Roundtable, representing CEOs of leading U.S. companies in all sectors of the economy, today weighed in on a recommended approach for consumer data privacy. As mentioned earlier this week by Business Roundtable President & CEO Joshua Bolten, the association will soon release a policy framework on national privacy legislation.

In comments submitted to the U.S. Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), Business Roundtable wrote:

“As technology and the digital economy have evolved so too has the regulatory landscape. With the implementation of the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the recent enactment of new data protection laws in California and Brazil, and the development of a myriad of regulations at the state and local level and around the globe, data privacy regulations have grown more complex and fragmented. 

“Privacy regulation fragmentation leads to a disjointed user experience and misalignment of expectations for consumers. It also threatens the global digital economy by restricting the flow of data across borders. As a first step, the United States should eliminate fragmentation within our own borders by establishing a comprehensive and consistent national privacy law, which does not exist today. Business Roundtable is working across industries and sectors to develop a framework for legislation that strengthens protections for consumers, achieves greater transparency, and enables innovation.”

The Roundtable believes a national consumer privacy law should advance four important objectives: 

• Champion Privacy and Promote Accountability. It should include robust protections for personal data that enhance consumer trust and demonstrate U.S. leadership as a champion for privacy by including clear and comprehensive obligations regarding the collection, use, and sharing of personal data, and accountability measures to ensure that those obligations are met. 
• Facilitate Innovation. It should be technology neutral and take a principles-based approach in order for organizations to adopt privacy protections that are appropriate to the specific risks as well as provide for continued innovation and economic competitiveness in a dynamic and constantly evolving technology landscape.
• Harmonize Regulations. It should eliminate fragmentation of regulation in the United States by harmonizing approaches to consumer privacy across federal and state jurisdictions through a comprehensive national standard that helps ensure consistent privacy protections and avoids a state by state approach to regulating consumer privacy.
• Achieve Global Interoperability. It should facilitate international transfers of personal data and electronic commerce and promote consumer privacy regimes that are interoperable, meaning it should support consumer privacy while also respecting and bridging differences between U.S. and foreign privacy regimes.

In the comment submission, Business Roundtable also outlines the components of a comprehensive national consumer privacy framework, including individual rights that consumers should have over their personal data, governance and accountability measures, and an effective and consistent approach to enforcement.

For the full comments to NTIA, click here.