Americans havewanted a federal privacy lawfor years.
Until now, that is.
Yes, in 2024, its possible we may finally get the privacy regulation we desire.
House Committee on Energy and Commerce Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), who introduced the recent privacy legislation.Photo: Chip Somodevilla (Getty Images)
The proposed law would eliminate potentially stronger, state-level protections that currently exist.
Heres a quick look at what the legislation currently promises, and what privacy advocates are saying about it.
The policy would give all Americans the power to request information from entities that have collected data about them.
Data minimization
The bill would also mandate something called data minimization.
The idea here is to reduce the overall amount of information that companies can collect about web users.
What is covered data?
Empowering the FTC
Enforcement of the law would take place at both the federal and state levels.
Taking aim at the data broker industry
The bill also targets data brokers.
A number of state privacy laws have failed to include this.
Some of those laws, like Californias CCPA, have been quite strong.
We recognize that compromise is necessary and that this is a big sticking point.
If its going to preempt state laws, it needs to be stronger than existing state laws and regulations.
Were still evaluating the bill to determine whether thats the case.
Other privacy advocates, like the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project (STOP), expressed similar concerns.
The ADPPA does offer strong privacy protections, especially data minimization rules, said STOP Communications Director Will Owen.
But the bill falls short by preempting states from taking even stronger action, should they so choose.
News from the future, delivered to your present.
