Press Briefing: Senators, Coalition Call for Sweeping National Digital Privacy Legislation
Feb. 26, 2019
MEDIA ADVISORY
Press Briefing: Senators, Coalition Call for Sweeping National Digital Privacy Legislation
Experts to Demand Federal Action to Combat Growing Digital Consumer and Civil Rights Threats
WHAT: Staff briefing, open to the press and sponsored by U.S. Sens. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Tom Udall (D-N.M.), at which consumer protection and civil rights advocates will explain the urgent need for sweeping federal digital privacy legislation with a new approach. It includes baseline legislation that doesn’t pre-empt state privacy laws, the creation of a new federal data protection agency and safeguards against data practices that lead to unjust, unfair, manipulative or discriminatory outcomes.
The briefing comes as Americans increasingly demand protection of their digital privacy in light of unethical privacy sharing and harvesting by tech giants. Without any constraints, Big Tech companies and their partners are collecting sensitive information on American citizens, ranging from financial and health information to data that tracks our internet activity across all our devices, our location throughout the day and much more. Both the federal government and states must be empowered to protect the public from this ever-growing online threat to their privacy, welfare and civil rights.
Members of the Privacy and Digital Rights for All coalition, which has announced a Framework for Comprehensive Privacy Protection And Digital Rights in the U.S. also will speak about the need for enduring privacy innovation and limiting government access to personal data.
WHEN: 2 p.m. EST, Mon., March 4
WHO: Ed Mierzwinski, consumer program director, U.S. PIRG
Jeffrey Chester, executive director, Center for Digital Democracy
Christine Bannan, administrative law and policy fellow, Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC)
Burcu Kilic, research director, Public Citizen’s Access to Medicines program
Brandi Collins-Dexter, senior campaign director, Color of Change
Josh Golin, executive director, Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood
WHERE: Room 216, Hart Senate Office Building
120 Constitution Ave NE
Washington, D.C. 20002