Privacy advocates of all political stripes say a federal data privacy standard is becoming more necessary as states pass their own laws and as artificial intelligence complicates the technology landscape.
To that end, a House Republican data privacy bill released last month would create consumer rights to delete personal data and opt out of targeted ads online. But despite the urgency, the measure has a tough road to navigate between Democratic advocates who find it too industry friendly and razor-thin GOP majorities on both sides of Capitol Hill.
Dubbed the “Securing and Establishing Consumer Uniform Rights and Enforcement over Data,” or SECURE Data Act, the bill is the product of the Republican data privacy working group led by Rep. John Joyce, R-Pa. It has been referred to the Energy and Commerce Committee and the Judiciary Committee.
At a briefing with reporters late last month, Joyce emphasized his intention for the bill to go through regular order, including a subcommittee hearing and markup, though he did not announce a timeline. He also shared his optimism that the bill might find some Democratic support, though it was drafted exclusively by Republicans.
“I think we’re going to find Democrats who recognize how important this is, and that’s because of the response of industry. We’ve seen truck stop owners and we’ve seen truck drivers, we’ve seen mom-and-pop stores and we’ve seen major tech institutes embracing what they finally have — an outline,” Joyce said.
