Image Credit: capitol.tn.gov
The Tennessee Conservative [By Jason Vaughn] –
The Tennessee Information Protection Act, which aims to protect Tennessean’s privacy and security by guarding them from Big Tech’s private data collection efforts, has progressed in both chambers of the Tennessee legislature.
Senate Bill 0073 (SB0073) is sponsored by Sen. Bo Watson (R-Hixson-District 11) and the corresponding House Bill, HB1181, is sponsored by Rep. Johnny Garrett (R-Goodlettsville-District 45).
According to the bill summary, this Act would be applied to persons that conduct business within the state or target the state’s consumer base and that either “During a calendar year, control or process personal information of at least 100,000 consumers,” or “Control or process personal information of at least 25,000 consumers and derive more than 50 percent of gross revenue from the sale of personal information.”
Currently, there is no state law prohibiting these Big Tech corporations from selling personal data to third parties, nor is there any action that Tennessee residents can take to get such companies like Amazon, Facebook, TikTok, etc. to delete or return their personal information.
This legislation would not only change that but would also give the Tennessee Attorney General authority to sue on behalf of state residents if companies do not adhere to the new law.
On March 21st, SB0073 passed out of the committee process in the Senate.
The Senate Commerce and Labor Committee voted unanimously in favor of the bill and it now moves forward to the Calendar Committee for scheduling to be heard on the Senate floor.
On the same day, HB1181 passed the House Banking and Consumer Affairs subcommittee by voice vote with Aye votes prevailing. The bill has been assigned to the full House Commerce Committee for hearing and a vote on March 28th.
When this legislation was re-introduced this session, Rep. Garrett – the architect of the bill, summed up the bill by saying it is the “protection of the virtual you.”
Garrett told us that the legislation is meant to specifically target large companies who can afford to be in compliance with the law and not smaller Tennessee-based companies.
However, he states that the cost for companies to comply was greatly exaggerated when the legislation was killed last year in the Senate Commerce Committee.
Garrett stated that he is personally lobbying his legislation to other lawmakers to garner votes for passage and that with his bill, “The consumer wins in the end.”
The fiscal note tied to the bill lists the fiscal impact on the implementation of the legislation to not be significant. Therefore, the bill is not at risk of being placed “behind the budget.”
Further, the fiscal note states that the legislation authorizes the Attorney General to impose a civil penalty up to $15,000 per violation as well as other relief the court determines appropriate for companies found not to be in compliance.
If you support passage of this bill, you can find the contact info for your Senators HERE. The contact information for the House Commerce Committee members can be found below if you wish to contact them prior to their meeting on March 28th to voice your support.
Rep. Kevin Vaughan – Chair – (R) – rep.kevin.vaughan@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-1866
Rep. Rush Bricken – Vice-Chair – (R) – rep.rush.bricken@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-7448
Rep. Rebecca K. Alexander – (R) – rep.rebecca.alexander@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-2251
Rep. Jody Barrett – (R) – rep.jody.barrett@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-3513
Rep. Clark Boyd – (R) – rep.clark.boyd@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-7086
Rep. Jeff Burkhart – (R) – rep.jeff.burkhart@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-6804
Rep. Karen D. Camper – (D) – rep.karen.camper@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-1898
Rep. John Ray Clemmons – (D) – rep.john.ray.clemmons@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-4410
Rep. Jeremy Faison – (R) – rep.jeremy.faison@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-6871
Rep. Bob Freeman – (D) – rep.bob.freeman@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-0709
Rep. Johnny Garrett – (R) – rep.johnny.garrett@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-3893
Rep. Michael Hale – (R) – rep.michael.hale@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-2192
Rep. G.A. Hardaway – (D) – rep.ga.hardaway@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-5625
Rep. Kirk Haston – (R) – rep.kirk.haston@capitol.tn.gov – 615-741-0750
Rep. Patsy Hazlewood – (R) – rep.patsy.hazlewood@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-2746
Rep. John B. Holsclaw – (R) –rep.john.holsclaw@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-7450
Rep. Curtis Johnson – (R) – rep.curtis.johnson@capitol.tn.gov -(615) 741-4341
Rep. Susan M. Lynn – (R) – rep.susan.lynn@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-7462
Rep. Pat Marsh – (R) – rep.pat.marsh@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-6824
Rep. Jerome Moon – (R) – rep.jerome.moon@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-5481
Rep. Dennis Powers – (R) – rep.dennis.powers@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-3335
Rep. Mike Sparks – (R) – rep.mike.sparks@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-6829
Rep. Dwayne Thompson – (D) – rep.dwayne.thompson@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-1920
Rep. Joe Towns, Jr. – (D) – rep.joe.towns@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-2189
Rep. Greg Vital – (R) – rep.greg.vital@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-3025
Rep. Ryan Williams – (R) – rep.ryan.williams@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-1875
Rep. Jason Zachary – (R) – rep.jason.zachary@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-2264
About the Author: Jason Vaughn, Media Coordinator for The Tennessee Conservative ~ Jason previously worked for a legacy publishing company based in Crossville, TN in a variety of roles through his career. Most recently, he served as Deputy Director for their flagship publication. Prior, he was a freelance journalist writing articles that appeared in the Herald Citizen, the Crossville Chronicle and The Oracle among others. He graduated from Tennessee Technological University with a Bachelor’s in English-Journalism, with minors in Broadcast Journalism and History. Contact Jason at news@TennesseeConservativeNews.com
