Data Collection (H 5076, Art. 3 23-24)

This provision in the Governor's proposed budget would expand the scope, reach, and use of the Rhode Island Longitudinal Data System, allowing for greater sharing of vast amounts of data among state agencies and external researchers. The ACLU of Rhode Island believes that the state should not be engaged in the expansion of data collection without first better protecting the security of the data, ensuring that any personally identifiable data being collected is necessary, and strengthening the legal rights of residents whose data is compromised. This provision does not contain any language strengthening requirements to safeguard the confidentiality of the collected data, providing greater remedies to individuals when that confidentiality is breached, or strengthening standards to limit the collection and sharing of personally identifiable information on a "need to collect and share" basis. We urged that this legislation be amended to reflect our concerns.