MONTPELIER, Vt. (WCAX) – Who should pay for Vermonters’ digital lifestyles and what role should your personal data play? A bill on its way to Governor Phil Scott would regulate how your data is bought and sold online.
There’s a saying in the tech world, “if something is free, then you are the product.” Companies collect thousands of data points on us every day through web browsers, smartphones, watches, and other devices. From shopping history and music tastes to more sensitive data like our ages, location, health info, and even Social Security numbers. The mountains of data are aggregated and sold to companies for targeted advertising.
“Pretty much every moment of every day,” said Rep. Monique Priestley, D-Bradford, a sponsor of House Bill 121, a measure to enhance consumer privacy. “In some ways that’s fine, and we want to see ads targeted toward us. In other ways, there can be risks — identity theft, reputational harm, or harms to kids being manipulated online.”
Vermont Attorney General Charity Clark, who is suing social media company Meta, is a big supporter of the bill. She says privacy is about having the ability to control what others know about us. “When you translate that ethos of privacy into our modern world — which is so largely lived online — what that comes down to is data privacy,” she said.
H. 121 is regarded as one of the strongest measures in the country.. It would ban the sale of Vermonters’ Social Security numbers as well as any financial and medical information. It would allow Vermonters to sue companies that break the law.
But that leaves some companies, including the Vermont Country Store, concerned. Jim Hall, the company’s president, says they conduct most of their business online and that the language in the bill is vague, opening them and others to nuisance lawsuits even if they aren’t doing anything wrong. “That piece encourages lawyers — and really unscrupulous lawyers — to go after businesses for money. I like the idea of having the attorney general encourage compliance through action,” Hall said.
Governor Scott has similar concerns. “Small businesses have enough to take care of without adding to their burden. They are going to have a hard enough time figuring out how to pay their property taxes,” he said.
The bill also includes new rules for social media companies aimed at protecting kids online by taking aim at algorithms that keep them glued to their screens for hours.