Senate Democrats Introduce Broad Privacy Law December 05, 2019, | Posted by erin

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The United States Congress has been warning of a sweeping new consumer privacy and data protection law coming down the pipeline for most of the year, in response to the European Union’s GDPR. Late last month, Senate Democrats launched their first official volley in the ongoing battle, introducing a broad law aimed at giving consumers new rights to how their data is collected, controlled, and used. Site Impact has been on top of the news since the very beginning; we’ve tracked the development and outcomes of the EU law that’s been deviling digital marketing professionals and especially email marketing specialists--and we even forewarned about the coming US law that would follow in its footsteps. While the new law proposed by the Senate Democrats is certainly not now in its final form, it’s important to look at the starting point to understand what it could become.

 

A complex starting point

The new law, introduced last month by Senators Maria Cantwell, Brian Schatz, Amy Klobuchar, and Ed Markey, is called the Consumer Online Privacy Rights Act of 2019. The law is 59 pages long, which is short by the standards of Congress but is lengthy nonetheless--especially considering that as the bill wends its way through the legislative chambers, it will doubtless get countless addendums, restrictions, developments, caveats and so on. The basic premise of the law appears to be to create a process for consumers to proactively opt in to data collection and usage, as opposed to the current standard data collection practices, where in most cases consumers must find ways to opt out. Notably, the new law does not override more stringent state-level laws, like the one passed by California earlier this year. The measure stipulates that companies must obtain consumers' affirmative consent before transferring “sensitive” data, broadly defined but including web-browsing activity across sites. The bill's definition of sensitive data also includes biometric information and precise location data.

 

 

No, the sky is not falling

The broad bill will doubtless have a big impact on email marketing, even as it continues to refine definitions and set forth more particulars; the proposed law also includes provisions that would prohibit companies from serving ads for housing, employment, credit or education based on people's actual or perceived race, religion, sex or other factors that would violate civil rights laws. A key method in email is the use of demographic segmentation--that may become trickier if this stands exactly as it is now. Of course, other ways to separate out audiences and tailor messages to them are available, and many marketers insist that use of demographic data alone is losing efficacy anyway. Overall, while it will certainly make big changes to the way email marketing professionals do business, it’s not going to spell the end of the channel--just an evolution within it.

 

As the proposed law works its way through committees and comes under discussion in the Senate, it’s important to note that it will certainly continue to change and develop, likely with the aid of industry professionals seeking to make things clearer, and to loosen up some of the restrictions. But make no mistake: a new law aimed at proactive consent from consumers is on its way, and it will certainly become the standard eventually. Contact Site Impact to learn how we stay on top of all regulations that are likely to impact the email industry.