Privacy Bill Stalls Over Consumers' Right to Sue

In Washington state, western USA, a bill that would have given residents new rights over data collection and use, including the right to opt out of targeted advertising, has been dropped by deputies apparently worried by the prospect of multiple prosecutions by consumers.

The bill proposed that residents should be allowed to access, amend and delete data about themselves, and to opt out of having it used for ad targeting and profiling. Privacy advocates said giving them the right to sue was vital to enforce the law, while ad industry groups said this would lead to 'frivolous litigation'.

According to www.mediapost.com , the state Senate passed a version of the bill that would have vested enforcement with the attorney general, but the House could not agree over the consumer right to sue and the legislation was timed out when the session ended last Thursday.

Bill sponsor Sen. Reuven Carylye (D-Seattle) said he was 'deeply disappointed' that the bill had lapsed, stating 'The impasse remains a question of enforcement. As a tech entrepreneur who has worked in multiple startup companies, and in the absence of any compelling data suggesting otherwise, I continue to believe that strong attorney general enforcement to identify patterns of abuse among companies and industries is the most responsible policy and a more effective model than the House proposal to allow direct individual legal action against companies'.