Fighting for You: July 2024 Legislative and Regulatory Update - Articles

Articles

Despite all the political turmoil in the U.S., the Insights Association remained focused on advocacy on our bread-and-butter policy issues in July, including heated fights over census funding, delays in federal noncompete rules, proposed portable benefits for independent contractors (that could include research subjects), more AI legislation, and a win on some IA-supported legislation in Congress.

Privacy and Data Security

Iowa law incentivizes companies to adopt data security certification, such as ISO 27001, by providing an affirmative defense against data security breach litigation. It is modeled on a Connecticut law.

However, similar liability protection legislation was also recently vetoed in Florida and West Virginia.

(Insights organizations interested in how IA company members can get help with and adopt ISO 27001 and other company certifications should talk to our Juliana Wood.)

Meanwhile, at the federal level, IA examined the Language-Inclusive Support and Transparency for Online Services Act (LISTOS Act), legislation that would require some of the largest "online platforms to consistently communicate and enforce their policies across languages and transparently report on the processes used to enforce policies."

Census

It took a long time to wrap up funding for the Census Bureau in Fiscal Year 2024, and the Insights Association helped to win more census funding than might have been achieved otherwise.

However, the battle over Fiscal Year 2025 appears to be full of even more complications for the insights industry’s interests. Instead of just a battle over census funding right now, the Insights Association is also busy combatting a harmful policy rider in the House appropriations legislation that would remove the mandatory response requirement from the decennial census and American Community Survey (ACS) – the lifeblood data for statistically-representative surveys in the U.S. – while also cratering response rates on all Census Bureau surveys by limiting them to a maximum of two contacts per household.

Human Resources

A bill supported by the Insights Association -- the Freedom to Invest in Tomorrow’s Workforce Act, legislation that would turn 529s from higher education savings accounts into career savings accounts -- just passed a key U.S. House committee as part of a larger bill, the Education and Workforce Freedom Act.

As a reminder, the Freedom to Invest in Tomorrow’s Workforce Act would permit certain expenses associated with obtaining or maintaining postsecondary credentials (such as licenses, certifications, or certificates) to be treated as qualified higher education expenses for purposes of 529 tax savings accounts. The bills would transform college savings plans into career savings plans.

Meanwhile, a new court decision suggests that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) rules banning most non-compete agreements in employment contracts may not come into effect on schedule.

Research Subjects = Independent Contractors

In response to a request for information from a Senate committee leader, the Insights Association, the leading nonprofit association for the insights industry, urged that any potential regime of portable benefits for independent contractors should not apply to research subjects.

The Insights Association noted that, “Not all independent contractors should be considered as “workers” and thus subject to any potential portable benefits arrangement. U.S. labor law is predicated on a binary option if someone is receiving remuneration: they are either an independent contractor or an employee. Many people who participate in market research studies as research subjects receive remuneration (which our industry refers to as “incentives”) and are thus independent contractors. However, serving as a research subject is not “work” in any traditional sense, and being a research subject, even with any kind of frequency, does not make someone a “worker” nor part of a “profession” or “workforce.””

As we explained, “That is why a benefits scheme, portable or otherwise, makes no sense in the context of a research subject.”

Artificial Intelligence

Congressional legislation, the Future of Artificial Intelligence Innovation Act, would establish standards and provide funding for AI research and development. It passed the Senate Commerce Committee on May 1, 2024.

AI legislation was also on the move in July in California:

Raising the Insights Industry Above the Chaos

Presidents and electoral candidates may rise and fall, but the Insights Association works tirelessly to rise above the chaos in Washington, DC and around the U.S.

However, none of our advocacy for the insights industry would be possible without your consistent membership and sponsorship.

We remain available to answer your questions on legislative/regulatory/legal issues. Please stay in touch!

This information is not intended and should not be construed as or substituted for legal advice. It is provided for informational purposes only. It is advisable to consult with private counsel on the precise scope and interpretation of any laws/regulation/legislation and their impact on your particular business.

About the Author

Howard Fienberg

Howard Fienberg

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.

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