The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law joined a coalition letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi urging her to bring the American Data Privacy and Protection Act to a floor vote.
WASHINGTON– The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and a coalition of dozens of other civil rights, privacy, and consumer organizations sent a joint letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi urging her to bring the American Data Privacy and Protection Act to a floor vote. This bipartisan and bicameral legislation to safeguard data privacy would strengthen our civil rights infrastructure and protect communities of color against discrimination in our data-driven economy.
“There are currently no comprehensive federal privacy laws protecting civil rights online, and discrimination on the internet needs to be addressed immediately,” said David Brody, Managing Attorney of the Digital Justice Initiative at the Lawyers’ Committee. “Companies collect, use, and sell data about who we are. They can use who we are to discriminate against us. Finding a job, starting a business, and purchasing products often occur online. Being protected in online commerce is just as important as being provided equal rights and access in a physical store.”
The American Data Privacy and Protection Act is a meaningful compromise with bipartisan support. Passing this bill would be a major victory in the fight against data-driven discrimination, providing long overdue and much-needed protections for individuals and communities. The bill prohibits using personal data in a discriminatory manner, requires testing of algorithms for bias, requires companies to only collect and use as much data as consumers reasonably expect, establishes rules promoting transparency and data security, and provides consumers with rights to control their own data. It would be stronger than any state privacy law.
Privacy rights are civil rights, and real data privacy ensures that peoples’ identities and backgrounds cannot be used against them unfairly. Congress must act now to ensure that everyone’s civil rights are protected nationwide, whether online or offline.
Read the letter here.
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About the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law – The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization formed in 1963 at the request of President John F. Kennedy to mobilize the nation’s leading lawyers as agents for change in the Civil Rights Movement. Today, the Lawyers’ Committee uses legal advocacy to achieve racial justice, fighting inside and outside the courts to ensure that Black people and other people of color have the voice, opportunity, and power to make the promises of our democracy real. For more information, please visit https://lawyerscommittee.org
