New ACU White Paper Warns State Privacy Patchwork Is Burdening Credit Unions
By CU Today Staff —
WASHINGTON – America’s Credit Unions Tuesday released a white paper calling for a federal data privacy standard that preempts state privacy regulation, while recognizing the existing compliance obligations already in place for credit unions.
Considering the mounting uncertainty and rising compliance burdens from a patchwork of incompatible state regulations, the white paper makes clear that the need for comprehensive federal privacy legislation is critical, ACU said.
“Without a clear federal privacy standard, states will continue to advance their own laws, creating a patchwork of conflicting requirements that credit unions must navigate,” said Chief Advocacy Officer Kathleen Coulombe. “For credit unions operating across state lines, keeping pace with an ever-changing maze of state mandates diverts time, resources, and attention away from serving members and protecting their data. A comprehensive federal standard that preempts state law would establish one clear set of expectations nationwide. Establishing a standard baseline would make cross-state privacy protection seamless and remove uncertainty across the system.”
With current federal legislative efforts to date and the legal authority supporting a nationwide federal privacy standard, America’s Credit Unions said it is "taking the lead" in advocating for uniformity in the application of privacy laws. The white paper recommends the following principles necessary in an effective comprehensive national standard:
“In order to effectively protect consumers’ data privacy, federal legislation must be grounded in reality. That means recognizing the existing regulatory expectations already in place for credit unions,” Vice President of Policy Engagement and Credit Union Operations Ann Petros said. “Working within the current regulatory framework would help credit unions strengthen their compliance programs, reduce unnecessary regulatory burden, and keep their focus on safeguarding members’ privacy and trust.
Originally reported by CU Today.