FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SIIA Policy Contact: Diane Pinto, (202) 789-4480

SIIA Asks for a Privacy Law that Protects Consumers, Promotes Innovation, and Enables the Use of Public Records

 Washington D.C. (March 12, 2019) – The Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA), the principal association for the software and digital content industries, filed Congressional testimony with the Senate and the House to support a federal privacy law designed to prevent and remedy data practices that cause consumer harm and that adheres to our First Amendment principles through a public records exemption.

SIIA Senior VP for Global Public Policy, Carl Schonander, issued the following statement:

“It is critical that Congress passes a federal privacy framework that reflects our American principles and traditions, implements strong consumer protections and individual rights, and harmonizes the U.S. approach to privacy to ensure equal protections for all American consumers. This is the right solution for consumers and business alike.

"We also emphasize, as we have done in the past, that the federal law must respect the First Amendment and advance important public policy objectives by exempting public records information. Information found in public records is critically important to businesses and governments for employment background checks, “know your customer” standards, and to promote important public safety purposes from tracking down missing children to fighting crimes, like fraud and terrorism.

"We look forward to working with Congress as the legislative process moves forward.”

###

About SIIA:
SIIA is an umbrella association that represents constituencies from technology, data and media companies. Through in-person and online business development opportunities, peer networking, corporate education, intellectual property protection and government relations, SIIA provides a network for its 800+ member companies that drive innovation and growth. For more information, visit www.siia.net.