APR 30, 2020 | US
COVID-19 May Push Congress to Tighten Online Privacy — Or Stoke Old Feuds
Protocol, April 30, 2020
By Emily Birnbaum
The COVID-19 pandemic is shaping up as a new chapter in the fight over sweeping federal online privacy legislation. Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Roger Wicker's announcement Thursday that he and other key Republicans on the committee will introduce legislation to regulate virus tracking signaled new congressional energy to pass a narrowly tailored privacy bill in light of a larger global reckoning over how governments and companies use data to surveil and potentially defeat the virus.
Aaron Cooper, vice president of global policy for software trade association BSA, said the legislation could help ensure all companies "play by the same rules and make sure consumers across the country have the same expectations." The bill, he said, "stands for the proposition that we shouldn't be sacrificing privacy or security while we're responding to the COVID crisis." BSA counts Salesforce, Microsoft, Intel and Adobe as members.
Original Posting: https://www.protocol.com/senate-republicans-push-privacy-coronavirus-stimulus
ABOUT BSA
BSA | The Software Alliance (www.bsa.org) is the leading advocate for the global software industry before governments and in the international marketplace. Its members are among the world’s most innovative companies, creating software solutions that help businesses of all sizes in every part of the economy to modernize and grow.
With headquarters in Washington, DC, and operations in more than 30 countries, BSA pioneers compliance programs that promote legal software use and advocates for public policies that foster technology innovation and drive growth in the digital economy.