A joint data privacy hearing was billed as an opportunity for legislators to deepen their understanding of digital privacy systems. Instead, it highlighted a concerning dynamic in the legislative process, one that framed business as the problem while excluding local perspectives that are central to Vermont’s economy.

The hearing, convened by a member of the House Commerce and Economic Development Committee and attended by members of that and the Senate Economic Development, Housing, and General Affairs Committee, featured testimony from a narrow and interconnected set of national privacy advocates. Despite being described as an educational session, the hearing did not include testimony from any Vermont based businesses, nonprofits, healthcare providers, or financial institutions. These are the very organizations responsible for implementing and complying with any changes to state law.

National experts play an important role in policy discussions and bring valuable insight from across jurisdictions. However, education requires exposure to competing viewpoints, real-world implementation experience, and an honest discussion of tradeoffs. That balance is especially important in complex areas like data privacy, where policy design has real operational, legal, and economic consequences. Those elements were largely absent from this hearing.

Instead, testimony repeatedly portrayed businesses as inherently untrustworthy and incapable of responsible data stewardship without aggressive regulatory and litigious driven intervention. Several speakers argued that companies could not be relied upon to protect personal information and that sweeping restrictions and enforcement mechanisms were necessary to prevent harm. Concerns about compliance costs and operational burden were minimized or dismissed, even as legislators raised questions about the impact on small businesses in a rural state like Vermont.

The imbalance was further underscored by what was missing from the discussion. There are respected academics who study how comprehensive privacy laws are functioning in other states and who raise concerns about the economic consequences of a growing and inconsistent patchwork of state-by-state privacy regimes. There are also national experts with deep experience in sectors already governed by extensive data privacy laws, including healthcare and financial services, who could provide insight into how strong enforceable privacy protections operate in practice. None of these perspectives were included.

Vermont business organizations have consistently supported strong, comprehensive data privacy protections. Support has been expressed for the balanced bipartisan data privacy bill that passed the Vermont Senate unanimously last year and, because Vermont operates on a biennium, remains under consideration this session. That legislation would provide Vermonters with robust consumer protections while remaining workable for employers, nonprofits, healthcare providers, and financial institutions operating in a digital economy.

At a time when Vermont continues to face affordability pressures, workforce shortages, and challenges building economic momentum, process matters. Policy development is most effective when it includes the people and organizations responsible for implementation alongside national expertise. A hearing dominated by a single advocacy perspective does not meet that standard.

Vermont stakeholders remain engaged and prepared to participate in a more balanced and inclusive process. Strong data privacy policy will succeed only if it reflects a full range of perspectives and builds on the bipartisan work already before the Legislature.