EPIC, Coalition Recommend Changes to Pending Washington Privacy Law

March 5, 2020

EPIC along with a coalition of groups proposed changes to the Washington Privacy Act, a bill now pending in the Washington legislature. The Washington Privacy Act would give consumers the right to access, correct and delete personal data held by companies, and it wold require companies to uphold privacy obligations, including transparency, purpose specification, data minimization, security, and nondiscrimination. But the bill lacks an effective mechanism for enforcement, permits the deployment of facial recognition, and contains many loopholes. EPIC and the coalition urged the Washington legislature to establish a private right of action, narrow the exemptions, make risk assessments publicly accessible, and remove the provisions permitting facial recognition. At the federal level, EPIC supports H.R. 4978, the Online Privacy Act, and S. 3300, to establish a US Data Protection Agency. EPIC has also called for a moratorium on face surveillance. The EPIC State Policy Project monitors privacy bills nationwide.

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