Committee Announces Paper Hearing on Big Data and the Coronavirus

US Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., chairman of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, announced a paper hearing titled, “Enlisting Big Data in the Fight Against Coronavirus,” on Thursday, April 9, 2020, beginning at 10:00 a.m. The committee and witnesses will submit written statements, questions, and answers to examine recent uses of aggregate and anonymized consumer data to identify potential hotspots of coronavirus transmission and to help accelerate the development of treatments. The committee will also examine how consumers’ privacy rights are being protected and what the US government plans to do with COVID-related data collected at the end of this national emergency. 

Witnesses: 

• Dave Grimaldi, executive vice president of public policy at the Interactive Advertising Bureau; and
• Michelle Richardson, director of the Privacy and Data Project.

*Witness list subject to change 

Paper Hearing Details: 

Thursday, April 9, 2020

10:00 a.m.

Full Committee Paper Hearing  

The committee has developed a “paper hearings” process to continue investigative and oversight responsibilities while adhering to public health guidelines during the coronavirus pandemic. 

At the start of the paper hearing, the committee will post the chairman’s and ranking member’s opening statements and witness testimony. Member questions will be sent to witnesses by close of business on the day of the paper hearing. Witnesses will have a 96-business-hour turnaround time to answer member questions. The questions and witness responses will be posted on the committee’s website once received. The committee will provide an official transcript for the record. All paper hearing documents will be available online on the hearing page at www.commerce.senate.gov.

Source: US Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation