In comments to the House Energy & Commerce Committee, the Insights Association (IA) recommended “a comprehensive federal consumer data privacy law that will respect and protect consumers, facilitate compliance in the private sector, preempt the patchwork of conflicting state laws, centralize enforcement at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and state Attorneys General (AGs), and continue to allow for the informed decision-making provided by insights services.”
The leading nonprofit association for the insights industry submitted the recommendations on April 7, 2025, in response to a request for information from the committee’s new Privacy Working Group.
“IA salutes you for taking a blank slate approach, instead of trying to resurrect the ADPPA and APRA,” federal privacy legislative efforts that died in 2022 and 2024. The association argued for the committee to “build a viable legislative framework from provisions in state privacy laws like those in Texas and Kentucky” and aim to “shift the burden away from consumers and toward a common set of privacy norms backed by strong enforcement to incentivize and ensure accountability by” everyday data users.
After explaining more about the insights industry, and IA’s comments discussed why simply trying to harmonize to European privacy law would be a “fool’s errand,” and laid out the basics of a viable legislative framework – including consumer rights to notice, access, deletion, correction, portability, and opt-out, “with reasonable verification requirements.”
Among key issues highlighted by IA were the importance of: affirming that audience measurement is not treated as targeted advertising; carving out pseudonymous data; opt-in consent for dealing with sensitive personal data, while carefully delineating the contours such that common demographic data required for insights work doesn’t get inadvertently restricted; requiring a consumer right to opt out of profiling, defined to exclude market research; and more.
The Insights Association looks forward to working with lawmakers “to make sure that consumers are protected and respected, and businesses and organizations can continue to provide consumers the benefits of informed decision-making and innovation.”
Based in Washington, DC, Howard is the Insights Association's lobbyist for the marketing research and data analytics industry, focusing primarily on consumer privacy and data security, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), tort reform, and the funding and integrity of the decennial Census and the American Community Survey (ACS).
Howard has more than two decades of public policy experience. Before the Insights Association, he worked in Congress as senior legislative staffer for then-Representatives Christopher Cox (CA-48) and Cliff Stearns (FL-06). He also served more than four years with a science policy think tank, working to improve the understanding of scientific and social research and methodology among journalists and policymakers.
Howard is also co-director of The Census Project, a 900+ member coalition in support of a fair and accurate Census and ACS.
He has also served previously on the Board of Directors for the National Institute for Lobbying and Ethics and and the Association of Government Relations Professionals.
Howard has an MA International Relations from the University of Essex in England and a BA Honors Political Studies from Trent University in Canada, and has obtained the Certified Association Executive (CAE), Professional Lobbying Certificate (PLC) and the Public Policy Certificate (PPC).
When not running advocacy for the Insights Association, Howard enjoys hockey, NFL football, sci-fi and horror movies, playing with his dog, and spending time with family and friends.