Janét Aizenstros is the CEO of Ahava Digital, which provides corporations with ethically-sourced verified data on American consumers.
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The people have spoken. Joseph Robinette Biden, Jr. is the 46th president of the United States, and within hours of his inauguration, he signed at least 17 executive orders related to the coronavirus pandemic, climate change, visa and immigration, racial and gender equality, economy, and government accountability. This indicates that the POTUS is committed to addressing important matters without delay. And if my predictions are correct, the Biden administration will soon turn toward consumer data privacy.
President Biden’s team includes members who played a central role in developing various consumer privacy laws during the Obama presidency, so it’s safe to say that there won’t be a huge learning curve for his team. The Obama administration issued a Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights and established a permanent Federal Privacy Council, and I believe the Biden administration will go in the same direction.
The Repeal of the Internet Privacy Act
Under the Obama administration, The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) passed the Broadband Consumer Privacy Proposal, which included the strongest net neutrality rules to date. The Trump administration, however, repealed those rules and prevented the FCC from creating any substantially similar rules. But things may change once again as Biden named Jessica Rosenworcel as the acting chair of the FCC.
Rosenworcel previously served on the Commission from 2012-2017 and played an important role in passing the Broadband Consumer Privacy Proposal. She is an active advocate of net neutrality. I believe Rosenworcel’s appointment will also bring the democratic government one step closer to gaining a majority in the FCC board of commissioners, which means that the federal government would become well-positioned to implement a robust privacy agenda.
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Privacy Legislation
Kamala Harris as the vice president is another reason I think it’s highly likely that the Biden administration will prioritize and actively pursue privacy legislation. The vice president has an interest and a proven track record of handling privacy-related issues.
For example, in January 2013, a time when privacy issues related to the rise of mobile devices were of particular concern, Harris, who was the Attorney General of California, issued a report called Privacy on the Go: Recommendations for the Mobile Ecosystem. The report proposed to supplement the general privacy policy with enhanced measures that would give users control over their data privacy pertaining to sensitive information or those that are unrelated to the basic functionality of an application. She also released a Joint Statement on Principles with tech giants including Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Apple, Hewlett Packard and BlackBerry to provide consumers with greater transparency and control over their data.
To top it off, last year, during an interview with The New York Times editorial board, President Biden said that the Communications Decency Act’s Section 230 should be revoked and that “we should be setting standards not unlike the Europeans are doing relative to privacy.” Section 230 removes liability from online platforms and prevents them from being treated as the publisher or speaker of the user content (with some exceptions).
So what does this mean for marketers and advertisers?
The Biden administration can potentially reset a few of the equations for marketers and advertisers. The Trump administration accelerated the cause-driven marketing trends, and marketers and advertisers with a stake in areas like gender and racial diversity or sustainability may see a greater opportunity to further their positioning under the Biden presidency. At the moment, the Biden administration is a bit preoccupied with more pressing matters, like climate change and the economy, which means that we don’t know for sure when they’ll turn their heads toward consumer data privacy.
However, in the future, it may become mandatory for marketers and advertisers to:
Collect and store data more responsibly.
Since the main issue here is data collection practices, I believe that marketers and advertisers will need to be clearer about data collection and its purpose. Currently, reputable businesses somewhat allow users to control the data they’ll share. However, the language is usually technical and way beyond a layman’s comprehension.
It’s possible the Biden administration will seek to create some changes here, where data collectors may have to explain to users what data they are providing, why they are providing it and which opportunities may be potentially missed if they are unable to provide any data. They may also be required to give clearer consent options to users, opting into their products and services, which includes real choices.
Google Chrome announced it’s saying goodbye to third-party cookies and choose a more direct way of measuring user interactions, which means that businesses may only be allowed to collect data on users who visit their websites. The administration may make it mandatory to use advanced security encryption for data storage and set up a time limit on how long customers’ data can be stored.
Hire and train privacy experts.
It may also become mandatory for businesses to hire and train a team of privacy experts or avail the services of a third-party agency. This step can help ensure that businesses are meeting the regulatory requirements and engaging in responsible marketing practices.
These are a few changes that marketers, advertisers, and data collection agencies may have to face if the Biden administration moves forward with a consumer data privacy bill.
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Author: Janét Aizenstros, Forbes Councils Member
