Tuesday, the House Civil Rights and Judiciary Committee heard House Bill 1155 – addressing the collection, sharing, and selling of consumer health data, prime sponsored by Representative Vandana Slatter (D-48-Bellevue).
WR expressed significant concerns with the overly broad definitions contained in the legislation as it relates to “consumer health data,” “consumer,” “collect,” and “health care services.” WR is concerned that this bill, as currently written, will lead to unintended and detrimental consequences for the consumers it purports to help. This is in addition to the difficulties, legal exposure, and challenges with compliance.
WR would prefer that this new and sweeping legislation be enforced solely by the Attorney General – instead of currently allowing for a private right of action, which will lead to costly and, in some cases, frivolous lawsuits and settlements. At a minimum, the bill should include a “right to cure” for unintended mistakes or errors, which will undoubtedly occur in this highly complex area of data privacy.
WR has long been a leader in supporting widespread and thorough control by consumers of their personal data. Our association and its members worked closely with former Senator Reuven Carlyle (D-36-Seattle) on the landmark, model, and all-encompassing data privacy legislation that has been replicated and adopted by several states and is under consideration in the U.S. Congress.
WR and its members have offered to the sponsors of this legislation carefully crafted language that protects consumers’ sensitive personal health data while ensuring they can continue to receive the same levels of shopping experiences, customer service, and high-quality product functionality they have come to expect.
