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Joint Center Joins Civil Rights Advocates in Decrying the Removal of Civil Rights Protections in American Privacy Rights Act

The Joint Center, which is part of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights Media/Telecommunications Task Force, signed a statement decrying the removal of civil rights protections in the latest discussion draft of the American Privacy Rights Act.

From the statement: “It is completely unacceptable that lawmakers stripped civil rights protections out of the American Privacy Rights Act (APRA). Privacy rights are civil rights. Previous bipartisan versions of APRA and the American Data Privacy and Protection Act (ADPPA) safeguarded privacy through strong civil rights protections. We are deeply disappointed to see members of Congress leave the concerns of our communities on the cutting room floor, after years of predatory practices harming real people day after day. The removal of civil rights protections and algorithmic auditing provisions is outrageous. We urge lawmakers to restore these important provisions in order to achieve privacy protections that are truly comprehensive and serve everyone. We cannot wait for our rights.

“Going back at least to the Supreme Court’s decision in NAACP v. Alabama in 1958 — an anniversary we’ll celebrate next Saturday — privacy and civil rights have always been inseparable. We cannot have one without the other. It is little relief to someone who is denied equal opportunity to tell them the denial happened privately. If APRA is to proceed, it must protect our civil rights.”

Read the statement on The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights’ website here.