AFFIRMATIVE — COUNTERPLAN — STATES/FEDERALISM — ANSWERS 37

PERMUTATION — FEDERAL PLAN CAN SET A BASELINE AND STATES CAN GO BEYOND IT

PRIVACY LAW IS IN DESPERATE NEED FOR A SINGLE, CONSISTENT LAW WITH STATE FLEXIBILITY

Deron H. Brown, J.D. Candidate, Thomas Jefferson School of Law, Spring, 2000; Thomas Jefferson Law Review, "BOOK REVIEW: PRIVACY IN THE INFORMATION AGE '13 EE2001-hxm lxnx

By suggesting a national omnibus privacy law, Cate uses the European Directive as a model and "tailors" his proposal to satisfy the citizenry's demand for minimal government intrusion. Cate argues for a "single, omnibus privacy law, supplemented as necessary by specific legal measures..." n5l He urges the need for clarity, consistency, precision, and intelligibility of the protection that the law affords. n52 Thus, Cate suggests a framework that sets forth basic national privacy protection with enough flexibility for the states to make modifications for particular economic sectors or types of information.

FEDERAL REGULATIONS MUST SET A BASELINE FOR PRIVACY PROTECTION

Denise Caruso, The New York Times, August 30, 1999, SECTION: Section C; Page 5; TITLE: TECHNOLOGY: Digital Commerce; Consumers keep saying they want personal information kept private. What will it take to get industry to listen? // acs-EE2001

Ms. Anthony, the F.T.C. commissioner, has also become a believer in a Government role. In her statement to the Senate subcommittee, she wrote that "industry progress has been far too slow" since the F.T.C. encouraged voluntary fair information practices in 1996. "I believe that the time is ripe for Federal legislation to establish at least baseline minimum standards upon which meaningful self-regulation can flourish."

And despite their protests, that may be the only "no" that industry will understand.

FEDERAL LAW ENCOURAGES STATES TO BO BEYOND IT IN PROTECTING PRIVACY

JOHN LABATE and PATTI WALDMEIR Financial Times (London) January 28, 2000, SECTION: WORLD NEWS: US & CANADA; Pg. 8 TITLE: WORLD NEWS: US & CANADA: Data privacy battle to shift to states // acs-EE2001

But the move to the states was prompted partly by the same legislation, which invited states to increase protections over and above the federally-mandated level through their legislatures.

State legislators are also responding to increased public concern about privacy in the new economy, where technology has made possible invasions of privacy that would have been practically impossible before.

FEDERAL CONSUMER PRIVACY LAW ALLOWS STATES TO SET UP TOUGHER STANDARDS, WHICH MANY HAVE

Amber Veverka; KNIGHT RIDDER NEWS SERVICE, The San Diego Union-Tribune, February 3, 2000, SECTION: BUSINESS;Pg. C-1 TITLE: Banking on privacy; Rules to protect consumers in the financial arena coming soon // acs-EE2001

That's because the act says it will take a back seat to tougher privacy laws that states pass. Seventeen states have privacy laws of one kind or another, and a few have moved aggressively to expand protections since the bank law reform bill passed, said Roderer, an attorney with Goodwin Procter & Hoar. Consumers could sue under those state laws.

CURRENT FEDERAL LAW ALLOWS STATES TO ADOPT MORE STRINGENT CONSUMER PRIVACY PROTECTIONS

Jim McIntire; The Seattle Times January 26, 2000, SECTION: EDITORIAL; Pg. B5 TITLE: Protecting the privacy of consumers // acs-EE2001

Three months ago, Congress dramatically raised the ante on consumer privacy issues by allowing banks, insurance companies and other financial institutions to merge operations and gain access to your sensitive personal information. The flimsy privacy protections in the new federal law outraged consumer advocates, who warned that giant corporate mergers and their giant customer databases would create unprecedented threats to privacy. Fortunately, a crucial provision was added that allows each state to enact its own consumer privacy protections.