ACLU of Washington statement on data privacy bills before the Washington State Legislature during the 2021 session

News Release: 
Monday, April 26, 2021
For the third year in a row, the ACLU of Washington and the Tech Equity coalition successfully fought the adoption of weak privacy regulations in the Washington State Legislature, alongside privacy, consumer rights, racial justice, and civil rights advocates. This year, these groups offered an alternative, the People’s Privacy Act, that puts people in control of their data. ACLU of Washington Technology and Liberty Project Manager Jennifer Lee had this reaction:
 
“For years, privacy, consumer rights, racial justice, and civil rights advocates have continuously called for meaningful privacy regulations that empower people to control their information. SB 5062 did not meet bare minimum standards to protect people's privacy and would have legitimized a status quo that protects big tech companies, and not people. The Tech Equity Coalition and the ACLU of Washington worked with Rep. Kloba this year to put forth a community-centric privacy bill called the People's Privacy Act (HB 1433) and we are looking forward to working with lawmakers, those who have engaged diligently and those who have expressed interest to learn more, over the interim to push strong privacy protections forward in the next legislative session. Legislators have been made more aware that there are options for data privacy, and that HB 1433 presents a more consumer and people-centric way of addressing data privacy.”