Alan Butler Executive Director and President | Official website
Consumer Reports, the Electronic Privacy Information Center, and Restore the Fourth have voiced opposition to a new privacy bill in Rhode Island. These groups argue that the proposed legislation, HB 7787/SB 2500, would not significantly protect consumers' personal information or regulate major tech companies like Google and Facebook.
In a letter sent to lawmakers last week, these organizations stated that the bill's requirement for companies to allow consumers to opt out of processing "personal data" for targeted advertising and profiling appears limited. The stipulation seemingly applies only to non-pseudonymous data. However, much of the data used in online ad targeting is pseudonymous, such as device identifiers or tracking cookies.
Privacy advocates have raised concerns about this apparent exclusion for pseudonymous data. They contend that it "represents a major loophole that would essentially exempt the majority of the online advertising ecosystem from the most substantive aspects of this bill’s coverage."
