SB 5 / Chamber supports
On Thursday, the Senate Commerce and Technology Committee voted Senate Bill 5, authored by Sen. Liz Brown (R-Fort Wayne), unanimously out of committee, 11-0. The consumer data protection bill strikes an excellent balance between the rights of consumers and businesses who use consumer data in their business operations. The Chamber testified in support of the bill.
The Indiana Chamber supported Sen. Brown’s efforts to pass a similar bill last year. However, SB 358 died in the House prior to second reading. A stakeholder coalition, led in part by the Chamber, met regularly with Sen. Brown over the summer and leading up to this year’s session. The result is legislation that has garnered praise from many Chamber members across multiple industries.
Senate Bill 5 instructs qualified businesses how to treat and secure consumer data, as well as disclosures they must make to consumers about how their data are used. Consumers may opt-out if they don’t want businesses using or selling their personal information (e.g., shirt size, favorite sports team, food and beverage purchases, etc.). However, businesses must obtain consent from consumers prior to using or selling more sensitive data (e.g., sexual orientation, national origin, biometric data, data collected from a “known child,” etc.).
In 2020, the Chamber’s Technology Policy Committee authored a policy position supporting state data privacy legislation in the absence of federal legislation. This will allow businesses who are considering locating in Indiana legal certainty and give potential new residents comfort in knowing ours is a state willing to protect their data.
