Dozens of civil rights organizations had been urging Democrats (some of whom had bafflingly approved those changes) to reject the bill, arguing that the changes were “immensely significant and unacceptable.”
The new text, designed to appease conservative lobbyists who represent the interests of big business, omitted, for example, a key section referring to “civil rights.” The removed section was intended to prevent companies from trafficking in people’s data “in a manner that discriminates against or makes unavailable the equal enjoyment of goods or services based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, or disability.” For reasons that at this stage are above the obviousRepublican lawmakers strongly oppose that language.
Removing sections of a bill that holds companies accountable for making data-driven decisions that could lead to discrimination in housing, employment, health care and the like drew a strong response from civil society organizations, including the NAACP, the Japanese American Citizens League, the Autism Association Self Advocacy Network and Asian Americans Advancing Justice, among dozens of others.
In a letter sent this week to E&C Democrats, obtained by WIRED, the groups wrote: “Privacy rights and civil rights are no longer separate concepts: they are inextricably linked and must be protected. The abuse of our data is no longer limited to targeted advertising or data breaches. Instead, our data is used to make decisions about who gets a mortgage, who gets into what schools, and who gets hired and who doesn’t.”
But the cuts didn’t end there. The most recent version of ARPA notably excluded language designed to give users the power to opt out before companies could use algorithms to “facilitate a consequential decision” using an individual’s personal data. At the same time, language that would have imposed an obligation on companies to examine or audit the impacts of their own algorithms on users was also removed.
Both provisions contained generous “pro-business” warnings. For example, users could opt out of algorithmic decision making only if doing so would not be “prohibitively expensive” or “demonstrably impracticable due to technological limitations.” Similarly, companies could have limited the public’s knowledge of the results of any audit by simply hiring an independent evaluator to complete the task rather than doing it internally.
“Previous versions of APRA required companies that developed or used AI to make automated decisions about people in certain important areas like employment, housing and credit to be transparent about those systems and allow people to opt out of that automated decision-making,” says Eric Null, co-director of the privacy and data project at the Centre for Democracy and Technology, a digital rights nonprofit. “Without those provisions, people can and will be subject to AI making or contributing to important, life-changing decisions about them, and they will have little or no way to protect themselves.”
Digital rights groups like Access Now, Demand Progress, and Free Press Action banded together to pressure Democrats not to take these changes quietly, arguing that “a privacy bill that doesn’t include civil rights protections won’t protect us.” significantly from the most serious threats.” abuses of our data,” and that the changes were imposed “without prior consultation with stakeholders and without studying the impact on the bill’s ability to address data-based discrimination.”
WIRED had contacted 23 Democrats who currently serve on the E&C on Wednesday to obtain a response to these groups’ demands. A single legislator responded:
“I already had my doubts about the American Privacy Rights Act,” said U.S. Rep. Nanette Barragán, pointing to bill language that could undermine stronger data privacy protections already in place. his home state, California. “The latest draft only deepens my concerns about the bill because critical civil rights provisions have been removed from the proposal.”
In a statement after Thursday’s cancellation, the E&C’s top Democrat, Frank Pallone, Jr., criticized Republican leaders for interfering with the committee process while also extending gratitude to the committee’s Republican chairwoman, Cathy McMorris Rodgers, praising their dedication to “giving Americans back control of their data.”
“We will not give up,” Pallone added, declaring that he and his colleagues are the only ones in Congress with the courage to “stand up to Big Tech on behalf of the American people.”