Oral testimony for the Vermont data privacy and online surveillance bill

I was invited to give testimony in front of this committee about S.71, An act relating to consumer data privacy and online surveillance. Vermont House Committee on Commerce and Economic Development (Friday, May 1, 2026 – S.71 – Room 35 – 2:40-ish) Jessamyn West – Library Technologist – Kimball Public Library Thank you In addition to my library work, I do public speaking at library conferences and have taught a workshop on Practical Internet Privacy all over the US for the past ten years (file attached). This is based on what I’ve learned in my 20+ year history of helping people with their technology problems and questions in a library setting. I can help anyone to use a computer better. I’m here today to give you some background on what an average- or low-skills user experiences when they use technology. I am an aggressive supporter of increased privacy protection for all technology users and I think S.71 will help with that. Here is why. I come from a library background and libraries…