Congressional efforts to pass federal privacy legislation are getting more attention this week, after the New Democrat Coalition announced its support Tuesday for Rep. Suzan DelBene’s (D-Wash.) bill, the Information Transparency and Personal Data Control Act.
For those of us fighting for a comprehensive federal privacy bill, it’s a particularly welcome development as more legislators express their support for Congressional action on this important issue. There’s never been more consensus in Washington that we need a strong federal bill to implement new privacy protections that serve all Americans – not just people in some states – and it’s a good sign that this important conversation continues to get the healthy amount of attention it deserves.
Consumers are rightly frustrated with having to read complex privacy policies and try to understand the terms, and it’s clear that we need a new approach to privacy that truly protects Americans from harmful data practices. Numerous Members of the House and Senate, including those on the Senate Commerce Committee and House Energy and Commerce Committee, have been working hard behind the scenes to draft legislation, and we hope that these deliberations will ultimately recognize this important reality: that harmful uses of consumers’ personal information should be outlawed, and those who violate the law should be punished.
We’ll continue working with policymakers, advocates and industry to enact this new approach into law, because a comprehensive privacy bill is a real possibility for the first time in 20 years. We don’t plan to squander the opportunity.