Dear Editor,
Georgia has had its fair share of national news over the last year. We had a runoff election that shocked the U.S. and finally gave Democrats control in Washington, all while our state legislature adopted restrictive voting laws that continue to spark debate nationwide. All eyes are on our state, making it critically important that our federal lawmakers show leadership in D.C.
With so many issues being considered by Congress, prioritizing our economic recovery, lessening vaccine hesitancy, setting commonsense federal standards for ballot access, and strengthening our infrastructure should be top of mind. That is why it is concerning to see some lawmakers focus on a package of antitrust legislation aimed at technology companies.
Consumers absolutely need to be protected from predatory business practice in all industries, including technology. But the truth is that technology companies are crucial to the Georgia and U.S. economies, and the coronavirus pandemic only made this more evident.
Not only that, but there are far more pressing matters ahead of our lawmakers in Washington. Georgia’s Congressional delegation must focus on what matters most —containing the virus and making sure our country comes out the pandemic stronger than ever.
Sincerely,
Representative Teri Anulewicz House District 42
Despite calls for increased regulation of the tech industry, Congress has yet to pass any major legislation, leaving it up to the states to take action curbing tech companies’ power and influence.
State legislatures have perhaps been most successful in enacting privacy laws that restrict tech companies’ ability to harvest personal information with California the first state to pass major data privacy legislation in 2018. Virginia enacted a similar law, the Consumer Data Protection Act (CDPA), in March of this year. Another Democrat governor, this time Jared Polis of Colorado
The Colorado Privacy Act, signed into law by Democrat Gov. Jared Polis in July allows consumers to opt out of the processing of their data for selling or targeted advertising, and grants consumers the right to access or remove collected data.
Yet in Georgia, Rep. Anulewicz now comes out against such legislation for the citizens of her district. One does have to wonder exactly why Ms. Anulewicz would take a stance so opposed to the interests of her constituents. What is really going on here?