Wicker, Fischer, Moran, Blackburn propose pandemic consumer data legislation

U.S. Sens. Roger Wicker (R-MS), Deb Fischer (R-NE), Jerry Moran (R-KS), and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) on May 7 introduced the COVID-19 Consumer Data Protection Act of 2020.

Sen. Wicker, chairman of the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee, sponsored S. 3663 with the original cosponsors to protect the privacy of consumers’ personal information.

“As the coronavirus continues to take a heavy toll on our economy and American life, government officials and health-care professionals have rightly turned to data to help fight this global pandemic,” Sen. Wicker said. “This data has great potential to help us contain the virus and limit future outbreaks, but we need to ensure that individuals’ personal information is safe from misuse.”

If enacted, S. 3663 would require companies under the jurisdiction of the Federal Trade Commission to obtain express consent from individuals to collect, process or transfer their personal health, geolocation, or proximity information for the purposes of tracking the spread of COVID-19, according to a bill summary provided by Sen. Fischer’s office.

Direct companies also would have to disclose to consumers at the point of collection how their data will be handled, to whom it will be transferred, and how long it will be retained, according to the summary.

The legislation also would establish clear definitions about what constitutes aggregate and de-identified data to ensure companies adopt certain technical and legal safeguards to protect consumer data from being re-identified, according to the summary, and would require companies to allow individuals to opt-out of the collection, processing or transfer of their personal health, geolocation, or proximity information, among numerous other provisions.

“During the COVID-19 pandemic, many tech companies are using data to track the spread and help keep Americans healthy,” said Sen. Fischer, chairman of the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Transportation and Safety. “I helped introduce this legislation which will allow companies to continue innovating while providing Americans with more transparency and safeguards for how their personal data are managed.”