Washington Small Business Owners Express Concerns About Proposed Federal Data Privacy Legislation
Seattle, WA (May 21, 2024): Three Washington small business owners today held a press conference to voice concerns about the American Privacy Rights Act’s (APRA’s) harmful impacts on small businesses. The bill, co-authored by Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA-05) and Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA), is scheduled for a May 23 hearing and vote in the House Subcommittee on Innovation, Data, and Commerce.
All three owners expressed concern that APRA would prohibit small businesses–and their advertising and marketing partners–from collecting more than the bare minimum data needed to provide a specific product or service. That means small businesses would lose access to valuable information about their ads’ effectiveness and the basic demographics of people clicking on ads or purchasing products. It would also effectively outlaw many common marketing practices, including asking customers to review products or letting potential customers know that a product they looked at is now on sale.
“Small businesses need a national data privacy law that protects consumers and helps small businesses thrive in today’s digital economy,” said Kevin Deneen, co-founder of Moterra Campervans, which has a hub in Seattle. “Unfortunately, APRA delivers a blow to small businesses by overregulating how we, and our advertising and marketing partners, can collect and use data. While it might not be the sponsors’ intention, APRA would make it impossible to advertise effectively or even give existing customers valuable information about special deals or new products.”
Bryan Toston, co-owner of Spokane-based small-business marketing firm Kraken Creative, amplified Deneen’s concerns. “I’ve helped many local businesses build their brand, expand their customer base, and grow their bottom line with affordable, effective digital advertising and marketing,” Toston said. “Overregulating the data that powers those tools will make them more expensive and less effective–a disastrous combination for Washington small businesses.”
Firecracker Software founder Jason Stock said publishers of community news, blogs, and apps will also feel APRA’s sting. “I make most of my revenue from ad publishing,” app publisher Stock said. “If my ad partners can’t collect the data necessary to show advertising with us is valuable and effective, businesses won’t advertise in our app; they’ll spend their money advertising elsewhere. That would seriously jeopardize our revenues–and our entire business model.”
The three owners stressed their belief in the importance of thoughtful, comprehensive national data privacy legislation to replace today’s patchwork of state privacy laws and said customers’ data security is a top legislative concern for small business leaders. They explained that APRA’s small business exemptions are meaningless, because even the smallest businesses exceed the bill’s 200,000-annual-data-points threshold, and many exchange data for items “of value,” such as ad-optimization software. The three also said the bill’s “private right of action” makes small businesses easy targets for costly, frivolous lawsuits filed by profiteering lawyers, noting that such abusive suits are common.
“We can all agree that data privacy is incredibly important,” Stock said. “APRA is a step in the right direction, but protecting consumers’ privacy shouldn’t mean hurting small businesses.”
