Why we need a federal data privacy law

Pennsylvania’s local businesses, my own included, encounter plenty of obstacles to running a successful operation. Data privacy shouldn’t be one of them. From staffing to inventory, sales to taxes, there are always new problems to manage and issues to overcome. And that’s not to mention COVID-19, which has destroyed hundreds of thousands of small businesses over the last few years.

Unlike corporate giants and established brands, I don’t have the luxury of hiring a specialist dedicated to deciphering complicated privacy regulations. More importantly, local businesses like mine shouldn’t be forced to.

We need a federal solution: a national data privacy law. This would normalize legal processes, allowing local businesses to know and understand what’s being asked of them. But more than that, it would let local businesses cut through bureaucratic red tape, expand their operations, and hire more employees. A uniform national law would free up a business owner’s most precious resource: time. Instead of wasting hours seeking to understand and comply with a web of different state-level privacy laws, the business owner could dedicate that time to growing their company.

My business, AnaOno, was created in Philadelphia in 2011 and transitioned online in 2014 to serve more people across the United States. We quickly learned that online operations have their own challenges. Among them, the growing patchwork of data privacy laws has the potential to stunt our operations, the larger we grow.

Whether it’s taxes, managing a remote workforce, or privacy, America’s laws governing business operations are very fragmented. States, cities, and local municipalities all have different regulations that businesses have to meet.

For local business owners trying to grow their operations nationally, it’s nothing short of a compliance nightmare that — in the case of data privacy — compounds with every new state that enacts a privacy law. California, Utah, Colorado, Connecticut, and Virginia have already passed their own regulations, while several other states are seeking to follow suit. Since businesses are required to follow the privacy laws of their consumers’ states, it means I need to track and learn the varying nuances of each state’s law.

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At AnaOno, we follow the Better Business Bureau to get its insight and advice on local and state-level ordinances, but given the number of emerging laws, I often wonder if I’m getting the most accurate view of what can impact my business. There’s no uniform authority when it comes to consumer data privacy and e-commerce best practices. This must change.

One recent study demonstrated just how heavy a burden this patchwork of privacy laws weighs on our country. The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation found that our economy will lose $1 trillion over the next decade in the absence of a federal privacy law. A fifth of that total cost — $200 billion — will be borne by small businesses. We can’t allow that to happen.

Sens. Pat Toomey and Bob Casey both work hard to strengthen Pennsylvania’s business community. We need them to lead Congress in working together to pass a federal data privacy law. Their leadership on this issue would pave the way for a stronger, less confusing, and more efficient system.

Pennsylvania’s businesses are trapped under the weight of various state and local regulations. These rules prevent us from realizing our full potential, expanding our operations, and doing what we love to do. If senators enact a unified federal data privacy law, then local business owners like me will have far fewer regulatory hoops to jump through, leaving more opportunities for us to expand our work and better serve our customers.

Dana Donofree is the founder and CEO of AnaOno, a business that designs intimate apparel for breast cancer patients and survivors. @danadonofree