Data legislation: Census, cybersecurity, and state-level privacy

|

This week, APDU joined its partners in the Workforce Data Quality Campaign for a private briefing on the Hill, voicing its support for continued commitment to education and workforce data.

According to the Census Project, next week the House will consider action that could cut the Census Bureau budget by 9%, including $56 million from the Census 2020 planning. CP has posted three factsheets to help you voice your support for a fully-funded Census.

On the data protection front, some feel that members of Congress will likely move forward on bipartisan cybersecurity legislation this summer. Past efforts to develop comprehensive cybersecurity laws have stalled on the Hill. But, the increasing number and severity of breaches have continued to keep the issue in the news, as last year’s publicized breach at retail giant Target demonstrated.

At the state level, a Utah representative is looking to give greater protection to student data collected by the state’s public education institutions. The legislation is called the “Student Privacy Act”, which would provide parents more control of the information that schools collect on their students. It’s set to be considered in the 2015 session.

Finally, in California, a state Senator is pushing legislation to ban public agencies from sharing data they collect with private entities, prohibiting license plate scanners from coming onto private property without consent and making it easier for privacy lawsuits to be filed against data collectors. Law enforcement officials say the data collection is invaluable for tracking down stolen cars and catching fugitives. Privacy advocates and lawmakers say the fast-growing private industry is not only ripe for conflicts of interest but downright invasive.

In non-legislative news, Data.gov turned five years old this week. Happy Birthday!