2018 -- H 8353

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LC005981

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2018

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H O U S E   R E S O L U T I O N

CREATING A SPECIAL LEGISLATIVE COMMISSION TO BE KNOWN AS THE "RHODE

ISLAND ONLINE DATA TRANSPARENCY AND PRIVACY PROTECTION

COMMISSION"

     Introduced By: Representatives Shanley, Keable, Marszalkowski, Carson, and Kazarian

     Date Introduced: June 22, 2018

     Referred To: House read and passed

     WHEREAS, The right to privacy is a personal and fundamental right protected by the

United States Constitution; and

     WHEREAS, All individuals have a right to privacy in information pertaining to them,

and providing consumers with transparency about how their personal information, especially

information relating to their children, is shared by businesses is of utmost importance; and

     WHEREAS, This transparency is crucial for Rhode Island citizens to protect themselves

and their families from cyber-crimes and identity thieves; and

     WHEREAS, For free market forces to have a role in shaping the privacy practices and for

"opt-in" and "opt-out" remedies to be effective, consumers must be more than vaguely informed

that a business might share personal information with third parties; and

     WHEREAS, Consumers must be better informed about what kinds of personal

information is shared with other businesses. With these specifics, consumers can knowledgeably

choose to opt-in, opt-out, or choose among businesses that disclose information to third parties on

the basis of how protective the business is of consumers' privacy; and

     WHEREAS, Businesses are now collecting personal information and sharing and selling

it in ways not contemplated or properly covered by the current law; and

     WHEREAS, Some websites are installing tracking tools that record when consumers visit

webpages, and sending very personal information, such as age, gender, race, income, health

concerns, religion, and recent purchases to third-party marketers and data brokers; and

     WHEREAS, Third-party data broker companies are buying, selling, and trading personal

information obtained from mobile phones, financial institutions, social media sites, and other

online and brick and mortar companies; and

      WHEREAS, Some mobile applications are sharing personal information, such as

location information, unique phone identification numbers, and age, gender, and other personal

details with third-party companies; and

     WHEREAS, Consumers need to know the ways that their personal information is being

collected by companies and then shared or sold to third parties in order to properly protect their

privacy, personal safety, and financial security; now, therefore be it

     RESOLVED, That a special legislative commission to be known as the "Rhode Island

Online Data Transparency and Privacy Protection Commission" be and the same is hereby

created consisting of eleven (11) members: five (5) of whom shall be members of the Rhode

Island House of Representatives, not more than four (4) from the same political party, to be

appointed by the Speaker of the House; one of whom shall be the Rhode Island Attorney General,

or designee; one of whom shall be a representative of an Internet service provider, to be

appointed by the Speaker of the House; one of whom shall be a representative from a commercial

website operator, to be appointed by the Speaker of the House; one of whom shall be a

representative of a data transparency and privacy advocacy organization, to be appointed by the

Speaker of the House; one of whom shall be a member of a trade association or designee whose

membership includes companies from the information technology, e-commerce, the sharing and

gig economies, advanced energy, cybersecurity, venture capital and finance, to be appointed by

the Speaker of the House; and one of whom shall be a member of the general public, to be

appointed by the Speaker of the House.

     The purpose of said commission shall be to make a comprehensive study and provide

recommendations on legislation and/or regulations for protecting individuals from disclosures of

personally identifiable information through the Internet by operators of commercial websites or

online services.

     Forthwith upon passage of this resolution, the members of the commission shall meet at

the call of the Speaker of the House and organize and shall select a chairperson.

     Vacancies in said commission shall be filled in like manner as the original appointment.

     The membership of said commission shall receive no compensation for their services.

     All departments and agencies of the state shall furnish such advice and information,

documentary and otherwise, to said commission and its agents as is deemed necessary or

desirable by the commission to facilitate the purposes of this resolution.

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     The Speaker of the House is hereby authorized and directed to provide suitable quarters

for said commission; and be it further

     RESOLVED, That the commission shall report its findings and recommendations to the

House of Representatives no later than February 5, 2019, and said commission shall expire on

May 5, 2019.

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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

H O U S E   R E S O L U T I O N

CREATING A SPECIAL LEGISLATIVE COMMISSION TO BE KNOWN AS THE "RHODE

ISLAND ONLINE DATA TRANSPARENCY AND PRIVACY PROTECTION

COMMISSION"

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     This resolution would create an eleven (11) member "Rhode Island Online Data

Transparency And Privacy Protection Commission" to study and make recommendations on

legislation and/or regulations for protecting individuals from disclosures of personally identifiable

information through the Internet, and who would report back to the House no later than February

5, 2019, and whose life would expire on May 5, 2019.

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