EPIC to Senate Commerce: Hold Hearing on Data Protection Agency Legislation

In a statement to the Senate Commerce Committee before a Federal Trade Commission oversight hearing, EPIC urged lawmakers to establish an independent U.S. Data Protection Agency. "When it comes to data protection, the FTC is not up to the task. It is time to establish an independent federal data protection agency in the United States," EPIC wrote. EPIC pointed to the FTC's failure to both stop mergers that threaten consumer privacy and enforce its own consent orders. EPIC urged the Committee to hold a hearing on and give a favorable report to S. 3300, the Data Protection Act filed by Senator Gillibrand, which creates an independent U.S. Data Protection Agency.