OTI Welcomes the Public Health Emergency Privacy Act

Today Sens. Blumenthal (D-CT) and Warner (D-VA) introduced the Public Health Emergency Privacy Act in the Senate and Reps. Eshoo (D-CA), Schakowsky (D-IL), and DelBene (D-WA) introduced the companion bill in the House. The bill would regulate companies’ collection and use of personal health information and location data to support efforts in the fight against a global public health pandemic.

The bill only permits the data to be used for public health purposes and prohibits unrelated uses such as law enforcement and commercial advertising. It also prohibits the data from being used to infringe upon the right to vote and to deny access to employment, finance, credit, insurance, housing, or educational opportunities. In addition, the bill provides for robust enforcement by the FTC, state attorneys general, and a private right of action. This legislation is well designed to address the immediate and critical threats posed by new plans to gather personal information from millions of people as part of a pandemic response plan.

The following quote can be attributed to Christine Bannan, policy counsel at New America’s Open Technology Institute:

"OTI welcomes this effort to protect privacy as lawmakers consider pandemic response plans that gather vast quantities of data. The bill would establish strong safeguards to prevent the use of personal data for non-public health or discriminatory purposes."