Stephanie Hall

Director

Innovation Policy

January 14, 2019

Katie McFarland

National Institute of Standards and Technology

100 Bureau Drive, Stop 2000

Gaithersburg, MD 20899

RE: NIST Privacy Framework Request for Information (Docket No. 181101997-8997-01)

On behalf of the 14,000 members of the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), the

largest manufacturing association in the United States representing manufacturers in every

industrial sector and in all 50 states, the NAM submits these comments on the National Institute

of Standards and Technology (NIST) Request for Information (RFI) on developing a framework

that can be used to improve organizations' management of privacy risk for individuals arising

from the collection, storage, use, and sharing of their information (the Privacy Framework).

Manufacturing employs more than 12 million men and women, contributes over $2 trillion to the

U.S. economy annually, has the largest economic impact of any major sector and accounts for

more than three-quarters of all private-sector research and development in the nation. The NAM

is the powerful voice of the manufacturing community and the leading advocate for a policy

agenda that helps manufacturers compete in the global economy and create jobs across the

United States.

Manufacturers are developing innovative products and transforming the manufacturing process

with the latest technologies. Data is driving the innovation occurring in these processes and

products today. The Internet of Things (IoT) is continuing to transform manufacturing through

billions of connected devices and advanced wireless infrastructure that allow for the

transmission of vast amounts of data. Connected shop floors are creating data that industry is

harnessing to improve efficiency, manage production activities, streamline repairs and

safeguard plant security. Additionally, connected products utilize data to transform the

customers’ experience in countless ways.

Our member companies are entrusted with vast amounts of data through diverse business

interactions with customers, vendors, suppliers and governments. They understand that

safeguarding privacy, protecting information and building consumer trust is a critical

responsibility. Our nation’s manufacturers support NIST’s efforts to develop a Privacy

Framework that advances individuals’ privacy while promoting U.S. innovation and industrial

competitiveness. Government and industry must collaborate to identify an approach that

accomplishes this goal, and the NAM welcomes the opportunity to comment on the NIST

Privacy Framework development.

Continued economic growth in the manufacturing sector will be positively impacted by the

federal policy approach to data privacy if it fosters innovation and accounts for the diverse ways

that organizations are integrating data into their operations and products. Ongoing innovation

requires flexibility, and action on data privacy must not sacrifice long-term progress for shortLeading Innovation. Creating Opportunity. Pursuing Progress.

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sighted compliance. The NAM supports NIST’s proposed outcomes-based approach to a

Privacy Framework that does not prescribe the specific practices an organization must institute.

By focusing on outcomes, organizations have the flexibility to develop risk-based privacy

practices suitable to their business needs.

An outcomes-based approach to privacy is necessary to account for the diverse ways data is

used across different sectors and companies. The federal approach to data privacy must be

flexible enough to account for various types of data, including consumer data, business-tobusiness data and data from digitized shop floors. It should also recognize that manufacturers

design and build security and privacy into their systems and products, and it is often an

extensive process to adjust those systems and products in the face of evolving data regulations.

A NIST Privacy Framework should anticipate the constantly evolving nature of technology and

be flexible enough to work for the data-intensive innovations of the future. Manufacturers are

leading the development and application of emerging technologies, including automation,

Artificial Intelligence, and quantum computing. The federal government should be mindful of

current and future uses of data and embrace policies that promote U.S. progress and leadership

in these emerging technologies.

The NAM appreciates that NIST identified the need for the Privacy Framework to be compatible

with existing domestic and international privacy approaches. A patchwork of state laws on

consumer privacy stalls innovation by creating a regulatory burden that distracts from the

development of next generation technologies and products. State-by-state privacy requirements

are both inconsistent with the reality of manufacturing processes and products and in conflict

with the interstate nature of data flows. A national approach to data privacy is better for

businesses and consumers, and a workable federal privacy framework should pre-empt

conflicting state privacy regulations.

In addition to providing regulatory harmony within the United States, a federal privacy

framework should be interoperable with global privacy frameworks. This is necessary to ensure

U.S. manufacturers with global operations and international data flows are not stymied by

conflicting international frameworks. Manufacturers appreciate regulatory certainty in global

business enterprises because 95 percent of the world’s consumers live outside the United

States. A confusing and inconsistent regulatory privacy regime deters U.S. manufacturers from

seeking access to new markets or from delivering the best, most advanced products to their

customers in different markets.

As the NIST continues to develop a Privacy Framework, manufacturers support an approach

that provides flexibility for innovation, addresses domestic and global inconsistencies in privacy

regulations and maintains U.S. economic growth and technological leadership. The NAM

respectfully submits these comments for NIST’s consideration.

Comments submitted via email to privacyframework@nist.gov by:

Stephanie Hall

Director of Innovation Policy

National Association of Manufacturers

National Association of Manufacturers

January 14, 2019

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