Privacy

The Year Ahead: Twenty-Four Ways Congress and the Biden Administration Can Advance Good Tech Policy in 2021
If Washington wants to show voters that government is doing something more than simply saying no or being ideologically dug in, then lawmakers and the administration should work to advance a set of actionable technology policy measures that would grow the U.S. economy.
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For a menu of actionable ideas for policymakers related to privacy, see ITIF’s “Tech Policy To-Do List.”

Privacy
Check a box to narrow search for individual content items that cover numerous issues.
March 4, 2021
How to Balance Privacy and Innovation in Augmented and Virtual Reality
Please join ITIF for a conversation with experts and industry leaders in AR/VR to discuss what unique privacy risks these technologies raise, how AR/VR providers are mitigating these concerns, and how existing and proposed privacy laws and regulations will impact AR/VR technologies.
January 22, 2021
Washington State Privacy Act Demonstrates the Need for Federal Preemption
Consumers and businesses are both better off with a single federal law than 50 inconsistent state laws, especially given the cross-border nature of the Internet.
January 4, 2021
The Year Ahead: Twenty-Four Ways Congress and the Biden Administration Can Advance Good Tech Policy in 2021
If Washington wants to show voters that government is doing something more than simply saying no or being ideologically dug in, then lawmakers and the administration should work to advance a set of actionable technology policy measures that would grow the U.S. economy.
December 14, 2020
How to Address Privacy Questions Raised by the Expansion of Augmented Reality in Public Spaces
Augmented reality (AR) amplifies some of the most pressing privacy concerns for bystanders in the digital world and combines them in new ways. Policymakers should develop safeguards that allow for shifting perceptions of privacy in public space.
December 3, 2020
‘Schrems II’: What Invalidating the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield Means for Transatlantic Trade and Innovation
The EU-U.S. Privacy Shield’s demise affects thousands of firms that relied on it to transfer data. Policymakers should realize the enormous trade and innovation stakes involved—both bilateral and global—and build an improved framework for data protection and digital trade.
November 4, 2020
Proposition 24 Took Away the Only Good Thing in California’s Privacy Legislation
California’s Proposition 24, which amended the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (CCPA), passed on Tuesday, forcing businesses that have already struggled to comply with the CCPA’s onerous and costly obligations to start over with a new set of even more burdensome rules. Notably, it removed one of the CCPA’s only positive, common-sense provisions: its 30-day notice and cure period, which gives businesses a grace period to avoid penalties if they fix violations within 30 days.
October 26, 2020
Why Facebook’s Project Aria Makes the Case for Light-Touch Privacy Regulation
 
September 14, 2020
Not Granting GDPR Adequacy to the UK Would Be a Mistake
Threatening to make it harder for the U.K. to engage in digital trade with the EU is a misguided move that will cause the EU to only fall further behind in the digital economy. To stay competitive post-Brexit and in the digital economy, the EU should ensure its data protection framework facilitates rather than obstructs data transfers with the U.K. and allow easier international transfers with more countries.
August 3, 2020
Podcast: Designing a Federal Privacy Standard, With Rep. Suzan DelBene (D-WA)
There is a pressing need to preempt states from subjecting organizations to multiple, conflicting privacy rules. The debate now is not over whether to pass new legislation, but how to design such a law to protect consumers while encouraging continued innovation.
July 13, 2020
Why New Calls to Subvert Commercial Encryption Are Unjustified
Law enforcement argues that “warrant-proof” encryption presents a unique and urgent threat by preventing them from accessing user data. But history shows that government efforts to subvert encryption would negatively impact individuals and businesses. As such, banning the technology is not the answer.

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