AFFIRMATIVE — COUNTERPLAN — STATES/FEDERALISM — ANSWERS 39

STATES WILL DO A BAD JOB AT PROTECTING PRIVACY

WE NEED ONE PRIVACY STANDARD, NOT 50 DIFFERENT ONES

The Buffalo News, November 15, 1999, SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE, Pg. 2B TITLE: THE PRIVACY CHALLENGE FOR STATES // acs-EE2001

And the prospect of 50 different privacy laws should make both Congress and the industry realize the need to revisit the issue and augment this bill with one sensible federal standard.

FEDERAL PRIVACY LEGISLATION WILL AVOID A STATE PATCHWORK OF REGULATIONS

Rebecca Christie, Financial Times (London), July 28, 1999, SECTION: THE AMERICAS; Pg. 06 TITLE: Delay in internet privacy law urged // acs-EE2001

But FTC Commissioner Sheila Anthony dissented from the other members of the FTC delegation speaking at the hearing. She supported some type of federal legislation, saying it would complement self-regulation and head off a potential "legal patchwork" of confusing state laws.

WITHOUT CONGRESSIONAL ACTION, CITIZENS GET THE LUCK OF THE STATE DRAW ON MEDICAL PRIVACY PROTECTION

USA TODAY, July 26, 1999, SECTION: NEWS; Pg. 14A TITLE: With patient-data leaks spreading, Congress fans the flames // acs-EE2001

Unless Congress sees the light, and soon, patients will be left with the luck of the state privacy draw.

NEED CONSISTENT FEDERAL REGULATIONS, NOT A STATE-BY-STATE PATCHWORK

JOHN LABATE and PATTI WALDMEIR Financial Times (London) January 28, 2000, SECTION: WORLD NEWS: US & CANADA; Pg. 8 TITLE: WORLD NEWS: US & CANADA: Data privacy battle to shift to states // acs-EE2001

Corporate advocates argue these federal regulations already offer protection to consumers. They fear that the many states will pass a confusing patchwork of new rules that will prevent national companies, such as Citigroup, Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, from sharing data.

STATE APPROACH TO PROTECTING PRIVACY WILL ONLY CREATE NEW PROBLEMS

Sean Madigan; Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN), March 24, 2000, SECTION: NEWS; Pg. 3A TITLE: Hatch tells Congress to strengthen consumer privacy protection // acs-VT2001

State efforts to close loopholes in federal banking laws that leave financial data and other personal records exposed to privacy breaches will only create widespread confusion, Minnesota's attorney general told a congressional panel Thursday.

"Do you think banks have information about you?" Attorney General Mike Hatch asked members of the newly formed Congressional Privacy Caucus. "They know everything."

He said that, if Congress fails to take action, ongoing efforts by state Legislatures to address the problem will cause new ones. And he called the privacy provisions in a recently passed federal banking law nothing more than a "facade."

WE NEED A UNIFORM FEDERAL APPROACH TO PRIVACY PROTECTION, NOT INDIVIDUAL ACTION BY STATES

Business Week, March 20, 2000 SECTION: COVER STORY; ONLINE PRIVACY; Number 3673; Pg. 82 TITLE: It's Time for Rules in Wonderland // acs-VT2001

BUSINESS WEEK believes there is a better way. Instead of a conflicting patchwork of state rules, the federal government should adopt clear privacy standards in the spirit of the Fair Information Practices -- a philosophical framework for privacy protection that has been adopted worldwide over the past 25 years. The broad principles are essential:

-- Companies conducting business online should be required by law to disclose clearly how they collect and use information.

-- Consumers must be given control of how their data are used.

-- Web surfers should also have the ability to inspect that data and to correct any errors they discover.

-- And when companies break the rules, the government must have the power to impose penalties.

NATURE OF THE INFORMATION ECONOMY MEANS THAT STATES ARE ILL-EQUIPPED TO HANDLE REGULATION -- IT NEEDS TO BE FEDERAL

Michael Grunwald, Washington Post Staff Writer, The Washington Post, October 24, 1999, SECTION: A SECTION; Pg. A01 TITLE: In Legislative Tide, State Power Ebbs; Federalization Has Few Friends but Many Votes // acs-EE2001

Even strict states'-rights advocates say Washington's recent tendency to impose uniform laws for complex industries such as banking and telecommunications makes some sense in light of the advance of technology and the rise of the global economy; state regulators are often ill-equipped to deal with international conglomerates, and patchworks of conflicting state laws can boost business costs.

ANTI-PRIVACY LOBBYISTS WILL BE EFFECTIVE AT THE STATE LEVEL

The Buffalo News, November 15, 1999, SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE, Pg. 2B TITLE: THE PRIVACY CHALLENGE FOR STATES // acs-EE2001

Fortunately, a last-minute provision in the financial overhaul legislation lets states enact stronger privacy measures than the federal bill's minimal safeguards, at least when it comes to selling the data to outside companies. Several attorneys general -- including New York's Eliot Spitzer -- already see the need to do this.

Whether state legislators will is another matter. After spending millions to get what they wanted out of Congress, the bill's backers can be expected to mount the same kind of lobbying blitz to beat back state efforts to bolster consumer privacy.