February may be a shorter month on the calendar, but there was no shortage of advocacy work for the insights industry with new Trump Administration leadership, federal privacy legislation, more taxes in New Jersey and Washington state, disappearing census data, a new legislative threat to the ACS, AI regulation in Virginia and New York, federal reporting requirements for small businesses, and more.
Trump Administration Leadership
IA issued a statement welcoming the U.S. Senate confirmation of Russ Vought to be director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), focused on competitive sourcing issues, bolstering "resources for the U.S. Census Bureau’s core Constitutional activities – the American Community Survey (ACS) and the decennial Census", bringing "order and clarity to the fluctuation of websites and data available from the Census Bureau" and modernizing federal statistical policy "by fixing current policies that discourage online research… and make it challenging to incentivize response from research subjects."
IA also released a statement following the confirmation of Howard Lutnick as Secretary of Commerce in the second Trump Administration, “at a challenging moment for two policy areas under his purview of direct concern to the insights industry: the Census Bureau; and the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework (DPF).”
Consumer privacy and data security
The U.S. House Energy & Commerce Committee has formed a working group to develop comprehensive consumer data privacy legislation. IA will be working with them, and coordinating with our Privacy for America coalition, in pursuit of a final law that protects consumers and promotes insights.
Tax
The New Jersey Treasury Department issued draft regulations to expand the reach of state sales taxes to more online activities, including some insights services. IA needs member feedback to gage its impact and how we should respond.
A Washington state bill would levy a monthly severance tax on the purchase, sale or licensing of most personal data of Washington state residents and require the registration of many insights companies (and non-insights companies) as “data brokers.”
Census
IA joined a letter to Congressional leaders opposing recent removals of federal data from government websites, including the U.S. Census Bureau, and urging that public data access be restored.
As we requested, Congress is pressing the White House “to immediately restore public access to federal datasets and data-driven tools,” including Census Bureau data.
In a Senate Commerce Committee hearing, President Trump’s nominee to run the Commerce Department – the federal agency whose purview includes the Census Bureau – was questioned about the census. After the committee hearing, Lutnick faced some follow-up questions about the decennial census and the American Community Survey (ACS) and gave some unhelpful answers.
There are also some new bills of note, including:
- The Freedom from Government Surveys Act, which would make response to the ACS voluntary, crippling response rates and making the resulting data on much of the country inaccurate.
- The Equal Representation Act would institute a citizenship question on the decennial census and require apportionment of congressional districts to be based on only counts of citizens.
- The Stop Wasteful Advertising by the Government Act (SWAG Act) would "prohibit agencies from using Federal funds for publicity or propaganda purposes." What would it mean for the census?
Artificial Intelligence
The Virginia High-Risk Artificial Intelligence Developer and Deployer Act, legislation that would restrict AI systems used to make consequential decisions, has passed both the general assembly and senate.
New York legislation would require generative artificial intelligence systems to “conspicuously” display warnings in their user interface that the systems could be inaccurate or inappropriate
Competitive Sourcing
As promised, President Donald Trump launched a new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) upon taking office again, sparking lots of news and controversies. While it remains unclear if it will help or hurt the insights industry over the long term, DOGE’s establishment in place of the U.S. Digital Service was itself a win.
Market Research v. Marketing
The Insights Association released a guide to help explain how and why market research is separate from marketing. Market research is not a promotional activity or a sales opportunity. While research and marketing intersect at times, they are different disciplines, have different underlying purposes, and raise different ethical and legal concerns. Thus, market research and marketing are subject to different regulations. While research and marketing are mutually beneficial, companies and organizations should maintain separate research and marketing functions for both to be successful.
Small Businesses’ Reporting Requirements
The Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) and its beneficial ownership information (BOI) reporting requirements are now back in effect. On February 18, 2025, a federal district court in Texas lifted the final nationwide injunction, allowing FinCEN to resume enforcement of the CTA. This ruling follows the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision staying a similar nationwide injunction.
FinCEN has extended the reporting deadline to March 21, 2025.
Defending the insights industry
Valentine’s Day has already passed, but at the Insights Association, we appreciate our members and sponsor all year long. Without your crucial support, IA could not tackle all these challenges and opportunities for the insights industry across so many varied policy issues in the U.S.
Together, we are the first – and last – line of defense. As ever, we are available to answer your questions on these and other legislative/regulatory/legal issues – just get in touch.
This information is not intended and should not be construed as or substituted for legal advice. It is provided for informational purposes only. It is advisable to consult with private counsel on the precise scope and interpretation of any laws/regulation/legislation and their impact on your particular business.
About the Author
Based in Washington, DC, Howard is the Insights Association's lobbyist for the marketing research and data analytics industry, focusing primarily on consumer privacy and data security, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), tort reform, and the funding and integrity of the decennial Census and the American Community Survey (ACS).
Howard has more than two decades of public policy experience. Before the Insights Association, he worked in Congress as senior legislative staffer for then-Representatives Christopher Cox (CA-48) and Cliff Stearns (FL-06). He also served more than four years with a science policy think tank, working to improve the understanding of scientific and social research and methodology among journalists and policymakers.
Howard is also co-director of The Census Project, a 900+ member coalition in support of a fair and accurate Census and ACS.
He has also served previously on the Board of Directors for the National Institute for Lobbying and Ethics and and the Association of Government Relations Professionals.
Howard has an MA International Relations from the University of Essex in England and a BA Honors Political Studies from Trent University in Canada, and has obtained the Certified Association Executive (CAE), Professional Lobbying Certificate (PLC) and the Public Policy Certificate (PPC).
When not running advocacy for the Insights Association, Howard enjoys hockey, NFL football, sci-fi and horror movies, playing with his dog, and spending time with family and friends.