TechAmerica Comments on President Obama's Speech Addressing Consumer Data Protection and Student Data Privacy

WASHINGTON, Jan. 12, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/-- TechAmerica, the public sector and public advocacy department of CompTIA, today issued the following statements following President Obama's comments at the FTC regarding consumers personal data privacy and students digital privacy. The following statements are attributed to Elizabeth Hyman, Executive Vice President of Public Advocacy.

TechAmerica on The Personal Data Notification & Protection Act
"The current patchwork of 48 different state data breach notification laws presents a compliance burden for businesses operating in multiple states, particularly small and medium-sized businesses, and thus does not effectively protect consumers. A single, strong federal standard will enable companies to notify consumers in a timely manner without having to worry about running afoul of the law, and we applaud the White House for endorsing such a standard.

However, a federal standard must be enacted carefully and strike the proper balance between protecting consumers and imposing unworkable rules and penalties on businesses that could undermine the consumer safety we all desire.  Any federal standard should therefore contain strong state pre-emption language, forbid private rights of action, and scale financial penalties based on the size of the company that suffered the breach," said Hyman.

TechAmerica on The Student Digital Privacy Act
"The President's announcement around student data privacy today at the FTC reflects a concern industry shares for protection of student data. Industry has worked closely with parents and educators across the country and, as a result, providers have taken great strides so that technology can continue to help advance educational goals while safeguarding a child's information and ensuring that if any data is collected that it is anonymous and not sold to another vendor.

"Additionally, providers have worked with governments across states to seek the most effective approach when addressing the issue of student privacy. While we fully support the protection of student data, we must be sure that any legislative proposal is necessary, effective and contains state pre-emption, while allowing industry to continue to better their products for use," said Hyman.

About TechAmerica

TechAmerica is the public sector and public policy department of CompTIA, advocating before decision-makers at the state, federal and international levels of government. Representing technology companies of all sizes, TechAmerica is committed to expanding market opportunities and driving competitiveness of the U.S. technology industry around the world. With offices on Capitol Hill and in Northern Virginia, Silicon Valley and Europe, as well as regional offices around the U.S., we deliver our members top-tier business intelligence and networking opportunities on a global scale. Learn more about TechAmerica at www.techamerica.org or follow us on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn. Learn more about CompTIA, the ICT industry trade association, at www.comptia.org.

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