February 26, 2015

The Honorable Penny Pritzker

Secretary
U.S. Department of Commerce
1401 Constitution Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20230
Dear Secretary Pritzker:
The Direct Marketing Association (DMA) and its members share the Administrations goal
of maintaining consumer trust in networked technologies to help facilitate the Internets dynamic
growth. We are concerned that the Administrations legislative proposal, which would enshrine
elements of the Administrations 2012 Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights into law, might
inadvertently restrict legitimate business practices, undermine economic and job growth, and
thwart innovation.
DMA is the worlds largest trade association dedicated to advancing and protecting
responsible data-driven marketing in the United States and globally. Founded in 1917, DMA
represents thousands of companies that drive the information economy. DMA members have
engaged in the responsible collection and use of data for marketing purposes for more than 100
years. These responsible and innovative data uses have revolutionized the delivery of products
and services to their customers and fostered many additional consumer benefits, such as virtually
limitless free online content and services. According to a recent study, the resulting Data-Driven
Marketing Economy (DDME) added $156 billion in revenue to the U.S. economy and fueled more
than 675,000 jobs in a single year.1 In short, information and information-sharing has changed the
everyday lives of most Americans and has significantly contributed to the countrys economic
growth overall. As these numbers indicate, data-driven marketing fuels the U.S. economy, and any
legislative proposal should carve out these activities or risk impeding innovation.
The DMA believes that the touchstone of privacy concerns is consumer harm. Consumer
value and innovation should not be unduly burdened based on speculative harms or subjective
tests. Absent evidence of concrete harm to consumers, the approach to privacy protection must
foster a culture of innovation, preserve existing and ensure future consumer benefits, and reflect
evolving consumer privacy preferences and expectations. True technology-neutral self-regulation
and consumer education is the most efficient and effective means of responding to privacy
concerns associated with the exciting emerging technologies and services that currently power the
global economy. Codifying principles into law endangers the ever-evolving nature of privacy
practices and norms.

Deighton and Johnson, The Value of Data: Consequences for Insight, Innovation & Efficiency in the U.S. Economy
(2013), available at http://thedma.org/valueofdata.

Unlike legislation, which is static and runs the risk of enshrining practices that may become
out-of-date even before a bill is enacted, industry self-regulation is inherently nimble and thus
better suited to ensuring protections in the rapidly changing information economy. To be effective,
self-regulatory frameworks must be developed and controlled by the businesses that will
eventually adopt them. The business community is uniquely capable of identifying principles that
are workable and that appropriately balance consumers privacy interests with consumers ability
to access exciting services and products.
To the extent that federal legislation is needed, the DMA supports efforts to remove or
modernize outdated laws that impede robust information sharing. For example, the Electronic
Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) is woefully out-of-date and creates a loophole that leads
directly to impositions on consumer privacy, long before recent revelations about government
surveillance were made public. Another example where legislative action is needed is passage of
a national data breach notification law. The DMA and its members have long supported a uniform
national standard for data breach notification. Protecting individuals sensitive personal
information from theft or illegal uses has been and will continue to be a top priority for the datadriven marketing community.
Instead of putting innovation at risk, the economy benefits from identifying and
encouraging market incentives and industry self-regulation to address issues related to privacy.
This approach will sustain consumers benefits from this technology, encourage innovation, and
promote economic growth, while also addressing important privacy considerations.
Sincerely,

Peggy Hudson
Senior Vice President, Government Affairs
Direct Marketing Association

cc:

John Verdi, National Telecommunications & Information Administration

John B. Morris, Jr., National Telecommunications & Information Administration