Apple, Cisco & IBM back calls for US GDPR law

Author: Jordan O'brien

Despite the risk of huge penalties, Apple, Cisco and IBM are all calling for GDPR-style laws to be implemented in the United States. That’s because those three companies all have little to lose from GDPR, but a lot to gain. Apple, for instance, has been shouting about its privacy credentials as of late, while both Cisco and IBM gain to benefit from increased investment in data security.

While all three firms are excited about the prospects of a GDPR-style law in the US, all three are largely in agreement that the law needs some tweaks before being brought stateside.

Mark Chandler, Cisco’s Chief Legal Officer, told the Financial Times, “We believe that the GDPR has worked well, and that with a few differences, that is what should be brought in in the US as well.”   

So what changes could we see? Well, American firms are fine with stricter penalties for those who are careless with data, but they’re not as keen on the ‘Right To Be Forgotten’ clause of GDPR. That has allowed EU citizens to be removed from search engine, but executives argue it wouldn’t work as well in the United States.

The United States already has a template as to what a tweaked GDPR could look like, as California’s data privacy bill has already been passed by the state’s legislature. This grants users more control over their data, with companies forced to tell consumers what information they’re collecting and who they’re sharing data with. Californians can also request that their data is deleted or that it is simply not sold or shared, while not risking a lower quality of service. The law won’t go into effect until January 2020, however, and if congress comes up with a bill in the meantime, it will supersede the state’s law.