Subject: Privacy op-ed
From: "Deese, Brian C." <[email-masked]>
To: "John Podesta ([email-masked])" <[email-masked]>
Cc: "Zients, Jeffrey D." <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 11 Mar 2015 19:47:42 +0000

John: Below is a draft op-ed that we're sending to the NYT in response to their editorial. We tried to reflect the conversation we had last week but let us know if you have thoughts, big or small. Brian

CONSUMER PRIVACY: MOVING THE CONVERSATION FORWARD
By: Jeff Zients & Brian Deese
We live in an era where nearly every commercial interaction involves the exchange or use of personal data - often without our knowing it. But for years, the legislative debate over how to provide consumers with more confidence, and businesses with more clarity, about the rules of the road for the use of private information has been stalled.  And the reasons for that are clear -- privacy advocates and industry seem at odds, government enforcers are limited to decades-old tools to address emerging technologies, and Congress has passed no new laws to broadly address consumer privacy even as we enter the era of "big data."
That is why over the course of this year the Obama Administration has been putting forward new, concrete proposals to strengthen consumer privacy, including the release last week of an initial draft of legislation aimed at enhancing privacy protections in the digital age.  And we're happy to see that releasing the draft has had its intended effect: in conference halls, at think tanks, in the broader public - and in the pages of this newspaper - people are now are talking about a specific, comprehensive, legislative approach to consumer privacy.  To keep the discussion moving forward, we think it would be useful to clarify what is new and different about our draft proposal.
First, our proposed legislation would create strong requirements that would give consumers new rights to control how data about them is collected and used, including the right to know how businesses are planning to collect and use information, and the right to delete data they provide and to correct data that is wrong.  The proposal also gives the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) new authority to levy millions in fines for violations of these requirements and other consumer privacy provisions.  These consumer rights and the powers given to agencies charged with enforcing them don't exist today,  but they should.
This discussion draft is far from the final word on how to realize these important goals.  As we expected, the draft has sparked passionate debate about the right approach to consumer privacy legislation - from what are the appropriate exceptions and enforcement authorities, to whether the legislation should create a single national standard or rather be a federal complement to  existing state laws.  These are important and worthy discussions, and part of why we committed to put out a specific legislative proposal was to focus them in a way that moves the process forward while having the debate play out in the light of day, not behind closed doors with only a handful of special interests providing input.
Privacy law is tricky terrain - done clumsily, a drive for strong consumer privacy could conflict with the desire for innovation and openness.  No one wants to put search engines out of business, eliminate free email services enjoyed by tens of millions Americans, or block engineers from developing the next voice-to-text app or mapping site.  The answer cannot be that in order to preclude potential harm we effectively stop all data flows; that approach would be impractical and unwise.
But the debates over where exactly to draw the lines and how to strike the right balance don't need to be stridently black-and-white.  That is precisely why new ideas and approaches presented in the discussion draft, like relying upon enforceable codes of conduct with strong FTC oversight, are so badly needed.  A privacy law will necessarily be a delicate balance between providing the practical privacy protections and greater control over their data that consumers deserve; allowing for the data innovations consumers demand and are benefiting from today; and giving startups and other companies who are responsible stewards of data the flexibility they need to create the next new, in-demand innovation.
The privacy discussion is also much bigger than any one proposal, and we are eager to move forward where there is common ground.  Leading up to his State of the Union address in January, the President put forward several proposals to protect  American consumers and families, including legislation that would give consumers peace of mind and companies clear understanding of how and when to notify victims of a data breach - like those that affected tens of millions of Americans last year alone.  The President also put forward legislation that would ensure that educational data on students, from kindergarten through high school, is not used in harmful ways.  Already we are seeing momentum on these proposals, with leaders on Capitol Hill committing to introduce measures that address the issues the President highlighted.  We look forward to working with Congress to address these complex challenges that are of great concern to the American public.
A world in which consumers feel powerless and uncertain; where companies lack clarity on how the rules of the road apply to their innovations; and where enforcement authorities have vague, limited tools to draw upon is unacceptable.  But that's the world we live in today - a status quo where privacy concerns routinely generate front page news, but remain unaddressed by Congress.
So, instead of offering vague solutions too simplistic to be practical in this complex terrain, we decided to add comprehensive, specific legislative proposals to advance the discussion.  We are moving forward on privacy issues not only because they matter, but because they deserve a nuanced, thoughtful debate.
We do so with an open mind, and are eager to consider modifications to our proposals.  A serious and transparent debate is certainly preferable to no debate at all.
Brian Deese is Senior Advisor to President, and Jeff Zients is Director of the National Economic Council, both at the White House.