Senate committee hears broad support for S.71 privacy bill; debate centers on private suits and financial-industry exemptions

Montpelier — The Senate Institutions Committee on March 12 heard more than two hours of testimony on S.71, the proposed Vermont Data Privacy and Online Surveillance Act, with witnesses praising the bill’s data-minimization and sensitive-data protections while disputing the scope of a private right of action and urging narrower exemptions for the financial sector.

The hearing drew policy analysts, civil-liberties advocates, state consumer advocates, banking representatives and privacy consultants. Consumer Reports policy analyst Matt Schwartz told the committee, “We strongly support S‑seventy 1,” and highlighted the bill’s provisions to limit unnecessary collection and use of personal data. Cody Venske, senior policy counsel with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the ACLU of Vermont, said the measure would “help ensure that the Fourth Amendment retains meaning in the digital age” and urged universal opt‑out, robust data minimization and anti‑discrimination guardrails. VPIRG consumer‑protection advocate Zachary Tominelli also testified in strong support, emphasizing data minimization, a ban on sale of sensitive data and a narrowly circumscribed private enforcement option.

Why it matters: Testimony framed S.71 as affecting everyday Vermonters’ exposure to intrusive profiling, the privacy of health and reproductive‑care information, the safety of minors and the ability of government or private actors to track undocumented people. Witnesses argued the bill would reduce the volume of sensitive personal information available to data brokers and government contractors, and supporters said that would help prevent identity theft, targeted harassment and warrantless government surveillance.

What witnesses said

- Matt Schwartz, policy analyst, Consumer Reports (Washington, D.C.): Schwartz praised S.71’s “data minimization” requirement that…