As the industry focuses on complying with the California Consumer Privacy Act, which goes into effect on January 1, 2020, Congress continues to work to develop a national data privacy standard. Progress on a bipartisan compromise has been slow but there are signs of movement as the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation held a high-profile hearing that evaluated various consumer data privacy legislative proposals.
Of note, Senate Commerce Chairman Roger Wicker (R-MI) released a draft bill prior to the hearing. Ranking Member Maria Cantwell (D-WA) released a democratic alternative supported by Senators Brian Schatz (D-HI), Ed Markey (D-MA) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN). Notably, Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), the Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Manufacturing, Trade, and Consumer Protection, did not cosponsor the Cantwell alternative because he continues to work with Subcommittee Chairman Jerry Moran in hopes of reaching a bipartisan compromise.
NMHC and NAA submitted a letter for the record in advance of the hearing, highlighting the industry’s support of a national data privacy standard that preempts state data privacy laws. The letter also outlines the need for flexibility and scalability depending on size of business and sensitivity of data collected. Noting the industry’s reliance on third party suppliers and service providers, NMHC and NAA support a clear assignment of responsibility and legal liability for data privacy and data security to the entity that provides services. The full letter can be found here.
To help members navigate these new rules and minimize related risks, NMHC recently released a white paper, "Data Privacy and Protection: Practical Considerations for Apartment Firms." The paper examines the state of the rapidly evolving data protection and privacy regulatory landscape and identifies 14 steps firms should take in response to it.
For more information on data privacy and security, please visit our advocacy page.
Related Articles
- NMHC-NAA Statement for Senate Commerce Hearing on AI & Data Privacy
- Real Estate Coalition Letter to CISA on CIRCIA/Cyber Disclosure Rule
- NMHC-NAA Statement for House Committee on Energy and Commerce on the American Privacy Rights Act
- NMHC-NAA Statement for Senate Commerce Subcommittee Hearing on Data Privacy
- NMHC-NAA Statement for House Appropriations Subcommittee Hearing on Bulk Billing