Why We Need a National Privacy Law
Since 2018, 210 comprehensive privacy bills have been considered across 46 states. California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Virginia have all passed different privacy laws regulating the collection and use of personal data, creating a conflicting patchwork of privacy laws that confuse consumers and hurt our country’s small and medium-sized businesses. We need a uniform national privacy law that would protect consumers’ data and privacy no matter where they live and provide businesses certainty about their responsibilities.
What’s the Privacy Patchwork?
The current landscape of privacy laws is a state-by-state patchwork that creates confusion for consumers and has a chilling effect on our economy, especially for small and medium-sized businesses that are struggling to keep up with an ever-changing compliance landscape. The high costs for states and companies don’t end there — if Congress doesn’t pass a federal privacy law, it could cost over $1 trillion to our economy over 10 years, including more than $200 billion being paid by small businesses.
The Privacy Patchwork by the Numbers
→ In 2023, 66 comprehensive privacy bills were filed across 31 states
→ Since 2018, 210 comprehensive privacy bills have been considered across 46 states
→ 20 states have enacted comprehensive privacy bills: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Virginia
Conflicting state privacy laws can impose substantial burdens on businesses, many of which are struggling through record inflation and the pandemic.
Resources that could go towards innovating and creating jobs are being spent on compliance costs and legal bills. For example, since the enactment of the California Consumer Privacy Act in 2020, there have been nearly 200 lawsuits involving companies that sell to customers in California despite being located elsewhere. Rather than forcing American companies to navigate multiple different sets of privacy laws, we need a uniform federal approach.
Costs from 50 such laws could exceed $1 trillion over 10 years, with at least $200 billion hitting small businesses.
Now’s the Time
The time for Congress and the White House to act on privacy legislation is now. We are engaging with our country’s leaders to focus on this important priority that four out of five voters overwhelmingly support. Coming together is crucial to educating lawmakers about how the growing patchwork of state privacy laws is untenable for businesses across industries, especially small and medium-sized companies. We hope you’ll join us in calling for a national privacy law.
A Call to Action
This campaign belongs to no group, no company, no industry, no one person — it belongs to everyone. If you agree that passing a federal privacy law is critical, join us.
How to Get Involved
There are numerous ways to get involved, from hosting events to using the #UnitedForPrivacy hashtag on social media. The goal is to work together to drive the narrative and change the conversation. You could:
🙌 Run or sponsor paid social media campaigns
🖥️ Host or attend a virtual event focused on the need for this legislation
🖋️ Release a blog post or opinion editorial calling for a national privacy law using information from our toolkit
🎤 Participate in earned media interviews and/or owned content activations (blog posts, Q+As, etc.)
📨 Re-share campaign information/activations/etc. on social media, in your company newsroom, email, and employee comms channels
🎟️ Call your representatives in Congress at (202) 224-3121
🤝 Join our campaign
✉️ Send letters to influential lawmakers
Our Partners
We’re grateful to our partners for their support in standing #UnitedForPrivacy.
National Business Coalition on E-Commerce and Privacy
