Episode 56: The People of Vermont want privacy too!

In this episode, Alan chats with Vermont State Representative Monique Priestley about her multi-year attempt to get a privacy law passed in the State of Vermont. They discuss Vermont's approach, what Monique has learned from the successes and failures of other state efforts, and what a "good" privacy law looks like. 

Rep Priestley's bio may be found at: https://priestleyvt.com/about/

The discussion re: Private Rights of Action in Privacy Laws with Dr. Lauren Scholz is available at: https://www.youtube.com/live/RVb8xXWkYPQ?si=sb89gvUiT_WzKYsp&t=2448.

My reaction to Dr. Scholz's testimony is available on my Substack at: https://chapell.substack.com/p/more-on-the-private-right-of-action

Takeaways

• Lobbying pressure shapes privacy bills long before the public ever sees them.
• Consumer rights only work if people can actually enforce them.
• Data minimization is essential but difficult to regulate.
• Political campaigns are major contributors to data misuse.
• States struggle to keep definitions aligned as technology shifts.

Chapters

00:00 Origin story of Rep. Priestley

03:15 How lobbying shapes privacy legislation

08:10 What a strong privacy law should include

13:20 Why data minimization is so complicated

18:45 The role of political campaigns in data abuses

24:30 Data brokers and updates, states are pushing

31:40 Authorized agents and deletion requests

36:30 How Vermont approaches sensitive data

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