EPIC Testifies in Support of Vermont Data Broker Bill, But Urges Changes

EPIC Deputy Director and Director of Enforcement John Davisson testified Thursday in support of Vermont legislation aimed at reining in the out-of-control data broker industry—while also urging key changes. 

Sponsored by Rep. Monique Priestley, the bill (H.211) would introduce new regulations on data brokers, including a requirement to notify consumers of data breaches. 

In his testimony, Davisson urged the state’s House Committee on Commerce and Economic Development to restore the crucial deletion mechanism—similar to California’s recently launched DROP system—that was proposed in a previous draft. 

As originally proposed, the deletion mechanism would give Vermonters a one-stop way to tell data brokers to delete their personal data—a critical tool in the fight to impose accountability and enforceable limits on the companies preying on Americans’ most sensitive personal information. 

But the bill’s latest draft relies on a significantly weakened and more cumbersome broker-by-broker deletion system, putting the onus back on the individual to manage deletion requests. 

Should the provision be restored to its original version, EPIC would enthusiastically support H.211 as a powerful step forward in privacy protections for Vermonters. 

Read the written testimony below: