As summer approaches, the Insights Association continues to engage on state privacy legislation, new prohibitions on selling insights services to Russia, the Census Bureau’s Ask U.S. Panel, possible taxes aimed at online insights companies, and other pressing policy issues.
Consumer privacy and data security
While IA was seeking changes to comprehensive privacy legislation in Louisiana and Pennsylvania, Connecticut rebuffed our entreaties, becoming the fifth U.S. state with such a law as Governor Ned Lamont (D) signed Connecticut S.B. 6 on May 10 .
Virginia also updated its comprehensive law, the Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act (VCDPA), coming into effect January 1, 2023.
The California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA) comes into effect that same day, superseding CCPA, and California legislators aren’t done with aggressive privacy legislation, including:
- California S.B. 1059 would expand the California data broker registry’s reach, requirements, and penalties for violations;
- The California Workplace Technology Accountability Act would severely restrict employers and their vendors from collecting and using worker data in the style of (and overlapping/conflicting with) CCPA/CPRA, but enforced by private litigation; and
- The California Social Media Platform Duty to Children Act would restrict some online platforms from addicting children to the Internet, including through use or sale of their personal data. Terms in the bill are broad enough to include some insights companies/services, and violations would be subject to private lawsuits.
At the federal level, IA checked out a disparate pair of privacy bills:
We are also preparing to engage on comprehensive privacy regulation issues at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). With the Senate confirmation of Alvaro Bedoya to be an FTC commissioner, filling the last open spot, the FTC, the nation’s premier regulator/enforcer of the insights industry, is positioned to propose new federal privacy rules soon.
International
IA analyzed a new U.S. Treasury Department prohibition on offering most insights services to most anyone in Russia, effective June 7, 2022, as part of the Administration’s response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Census
The Insights Association (IA) continues to raise concerns about the Census Bureau's Ask U.S. Panel project, which would subsidize a private entity to develop a probability-based online research panel instead of purchasing the service from existing providers that already offer the service on the open market. We also testified on the issue and legislative solutions we seek at the House Appropriations Committee.
Tax
The Senate Commerce Committee passed the Funding Affordable Internet with Reliable (FAIR) Contributions Act, a bill that would potentially shift the financing model for the Universal Service Fund (USF) from taxing telephone users to taxing companies that operate online. The Insights Association provided comments to the committee prior to passage, sharing our concerns about the outcome.
Human resources
The New York legislature is considering:
- The End Employer Collusion Act (S. 562 and A. 1643), which would prohibit noncompete agreements for employees of franchises and punish violations with private litigation; and
- S. 1241 and A. 6117, which would presume exposure to COVID-19 to be an occupationally acquired illness for purposes of worker’s compensation law.
Continuing the fight for the insights industry
The Insights Association is grateful for all our members and sponsors -- you provide the resources we require to defend and advance the whole insights industry. IA is the ONLY association fighting for you on all these issues (and more) in the U.S.
We remain available to answer your questions on these and other legislative/regulatory/legal issues. Please just reach out.
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.
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.