US on ‘Verge’ of CCPA-Like Privacy Law: GSMA's Wojtan

Deployment of 5G will be impeded “if we don’t get privacy right,” GSMA Director-Privacy Boris Wojtan told an Omdia webinar Wednesday. “It’s no wonder that there’s an explosion of data protection laws around the world,” he said. “It’s a good 150 now and counting.” The U.S. has had privacy laws in place since the 1970s but is now “perhaps on the verge of adopting something that’s federal and general -- a bit like the California law, but at the federal level,” said Wojtan. “There will always be new regulations and fines to avoid, but the real driver here is trust.” That law is the California Consumer Privacy Act. More “robust” data privacy “programs” are needed that “are broad and more comprehensive and really look at where the risk is,” Wojtan said.