“The People’s Privacy Act is about reclaiming our digital autonomy, protecting our safety, and putting control back where it belongs: in the hands of the people.”
The People’s Privacy Act (HB 1671) provides strong privacy protections for Washingtonians by setting meaningful limits on how much data companies can collect, prohibiting the sale of sensitive data without written consent, and banning targeted advertising to kids and teens. At the hearing in early February, privacy advocates from WA People’s Privacy, ACLU of Washington, Consumer Federation of America, Consumer Reports, EPIC, US PIRG, and Lake Washington High School supported the bill. But big tech companies who make money by exploiting our data are trying to kill it.
The bill passed its first hurdle, a committee vote on February 14. That’s great! But now it has to get through the Appropriations committee, which approves all budgetary requests … and with a budget crunch here in Washington, there will be a lot of pressure to save money by sacrificing our privacy.
So if you live in Washington state, now’s a crucial time to tell your legislators to pass the People’s Privacy Act. You can do that several different ways:
- Use the web form on the state legislature’s web site
- If you prefer the phone, use the legislative hotline at 1–800–562–6000 (TTY for Hearing Impaired 800.833.6388) or calling your legislator’s office
- Email your legislators directly
If you haven’t done it before, we’ve got instructions for the various approaches below.
No matter how you’re contacting them, your feedback doesn’t have to be fancy — something short and sweet like
Please pass the People’s Privacy Act (HB 1671). It’s more urgent than ever to have strong privacy protections for our personal data!
is fine. Or you can say more. or example by telling them why strong privacy protections are important to you and highlighting the urgency of the legislature taking action. . If you’ve got a story about how personal data has been used against you or somebody you know — or how you fear it could be — that’s especially powerful. Even if you’re not going into more detail, though, making the effort to contact them highlights that this is an issue you really care about.
Using the web form on the state legislature’s web site
Commenting on a bill on the state legislature’s web site is an easy way to let your legislators know your position on the bill and send any comments to one or all of your state legislatures. Here’s how:
- Click here to go to the comment page for HB 1671, officially known as “Protecting personal data privacy.”
- Fill in your address and click Verify District
- Select the legislators you want to sent it to. We suggest selecting all of them: the next vote is in the House, but depending on how that goes there may be a followup vote soon after in the Senate.
- Choose your position — SUPPORT!
- Fill out the rest of the form and click on Send Comment.
Your comment doesn’t have to be fancy — legislators and staffers also pay attention to the number of comments they get. If you’re pressed for time, it’s fine to cut-and-paste the two sentences below:
Please pass the People’s Privacy Act (HB 1671). It’s more urgent than ever to have strong privacy protections for our personal data!
Or, you can write your own comment from scratch, going to whatever level of detail you want. Stories about how personal data has been used against you or somebody you know — or how you fear it could be — are especially powerful. Even if you’re not going into more detail, though, making the effort to contact them highlights that this is an issue you really care about.
By phone, using the legislative hotline
If you prefer to call, the legislative hotline at 1–800–562–6000 (TTY for Hearing Impaired 800.833.6388) also lets you get a message to all your legislators at once.
- Tell them the you’re calling about HB 1671 — you support it and want to leave a comment.
- They’ll ask for your address, and then what you want to say about the bill.
The staffer has to type in whatever you say, so it’s fine to keep it simple — “Please pass the People’s Privacy Act. It’s more urgent than every to have strong privacy protections for our personal data!”. Or you can go into more detail with a story.
By phone, calling your legislators’ office
Speaking directly with a staffer in your legislator’s office gives you a chance to tell them in person why you care about this bill — although, legislators are getting a lot of phone calls right now so you may well wind up having to leave a voice message. Introduce yourself by name and city or county, tell them that you’re a constituent and you support the People’s Privacy Act (HB 1671) — and then more if you want, sharing a story or why you care so much about privacy.
If you don’t know your legislators’ phone number, here’s the official list of State Representatives by District and County (or the alphabetical list if you prefer). Clicking on a legislators’ name brings you to a page with their contact information. If you’re not sure who your legislators are, start by looking up your district using the legislature’s District Finder.
Everybody in Washington state has two representatives, so please call both! If you’d prefer to make a single phone call, you can use the legislative hotline.
Email your legislators directly
Legislators are getting a lot of email right now so there is no guarantee they’ll read it, but they are at least likely to see the subject line. so it is very important to include all the information there so they know what you want them to do. Choose a subject line like:
Protect our data: Pass the People’s Privacy Act (HB 1671)
For the addresses, here’s the official list of State Representatives by District and County (or here’s the alphabetical list if you prefer). If you’re not sure who your legislators are, start by looking up your district using the legislature’s District Finder. It’s easiest to send a single email to all three of your lawmakers, or you can mail each one individually.
For the contents, all you need to do is cut-and-paste and do a little editing — fill in your legislators’ names, and then include your name and city at the bottom so they know you’re a constituent.
Dear Representatives ____ and ____,
Please pass the People’s Privacy Act (HB 1671). This bill provides critical protections for my personal data – and my family’s, and your other constituents. These protections are long overdue and are more urgent than ever!
[YOUR NAME]
[YOUR TOWN, CITY, AND/OR COUNTY]
You can edit it however you want or write your own email from scratch. Double check it to make sure you’ve removed the placeholder text and have spelled their names righ … then click send and you’re done!