The American Bankers Association and a group of financial trade associations today shared “serious concerns” about the American Data Privacy and Protection Act with the House Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Commerce.
While underscoring their full support for consumer data privacy and security, they noted that their members have been subject to “extensive federal privacy and data protection laws” for several decades, and pointed out several provisions of the legislation should be reconsidered. The trade groups also noted the “rushed pace” at which the legislation is moving through the committee process, which hasn’t allowed for “adequate” stakeholder input.
Left unchanged, ADPPA would lead to “duplicative and conflicting requirements” for financial institutions, which already are subject to consumer financial data privacy and security protections under Title V of the Gramm-Leach Bliley Act, the groups said. “This framework will be disruptive to the financial system, consumers and the economy,” they wrote, recommending that ADPPA be amended to exempt all GLBA-regulated institutions.
The groups also cited need for the legislation to be consistent from state to state. “By allowing enforcement by private rights of action … it will only be a short matter of time before different judicial interpretations of the law mean that different states have different interpretations of the law,” they explained. State-by-state variations “inhibit national training and consumer understanding of privacy rights” as well as “encourage frivolous litigation for minor compliance infractions,” the groups wrote, noting that ADPPA should amended to create a “clear and direct preemption of all state privacy and data protection provisions,” eliminating “the continued patchwork” of requirements.
