House Privacy Committee Hearing Cancelled

Last week, the House Energy and Commerce Committee canceled its scheduled review hearing on the American Privacy Rights Act of 2024. Ahead of the committee’s full review, numerous groups from a wide range of industries, including law enforcement, technology, business, retail, and pro-life groups, opposed the latest version of the bill.

NACS raised concerns about the service provider section and private right of action in a letter it sent the day before the planned increase.

In its letter, NACS urged the committee to make changes before the bill is introduced in the House. “We appreciate that the latest version of the American Privacy Rights Act of 2024 made significant improvements to the provisions for big tech companies acting as service providers to Main Street businesses, but there remain problems with these provisions and with the private right of action that could make Main Street businesses liable for activities they do not engage in and cannot control.”

NACS worked with members and staff of the House Energy and Commerce Committee to improve the bill. Much progress was made on loyalty and rewards programs, clarifying the co-branding section, and making some improvements to a few parts of the service provider section. While the date of the surcharge hearing is unknown, NACS will continue to work to improve the bill to ensure that convenience retailers are not held liable for the actions of other business entities.

NACS supports the development of a national privacy framework and believes that any proposed federal privacy legislation should apply to all industries rather than shifting requirements to the retail sector. Federal legislation should not designate regulatory winners and losers among industries or exempt any industry or business. Only by ensuring that all businesses are accountable for their own data practices can legislation fully protect consumers.