Representatives of six major technology and communications companies, including Google, Apple and AT&T, are testifying Wednesday before the Senate Commerce Committee about safeguarding user privacy.
The hearing aims to review the nation's patchwork of privacy laws and determine whether Congress should act to strengthen them.
"The question is no longer whether we need a federal law to protect consumers' privacy. The question is what shape that law should take," Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., chairman of the committee, said in opening remarks.
In addition to Google, Apple and AT&T, senators are hearing from policymakers from Amazon, Charter Communications and Twitter.
Privacy advocates worry that lawmakers will side with corporate interests by introducing federal laws that are ultimately weaker than those recently unveiled in Europe and California.
Executives told the panel that the United States needs federal legislation to protect personal data _ but told lawmakers not to emulate the California Consumer Privacy Act and the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation. Those laws are designed to give consumers far more control of their data, but they have not been fully supported by companies because of compliance costs and the restrictions on data collection.
"We're urging for comprehensive federal law that looks at both these laws and learns from them, but does better than them," said Len Cali, senior vice president of global public policy for AT&T, who called the European law "overly prescriptive and burdensome."
Other executives said the European law would only strengthen incumbent companies such as theirs given the costs of complying.
"We're concerned about the small and medium-sized business," said Guy Trimble, Apple's vice president for software technology.
Privacy advocates say the companies' preference for a federal law is guided by fear that other states could adopt California's stringent rules, which go into effect in 2020.
"What they mean is that they want weak federal privacy legislation that preempts stronger state laws," said Christine Bannan, an attorney for the Electronic Privacy Information Center.
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