A bipartisan, comprehensive data privacy bill faces serious headwinds after a House Energy and Commerce Committee markup scheduled for today was abruptly cancelled.
The American Privacy Rights Act was introduced in April by House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) and Ranking Member Frank Pallone (D-NJ). The bill would establish a federal consumer privacy standard that supersedes the current patchwork of state laws in place that create confusion and compliance challenges for businesses operating across state lines.
Before today’s committee markup, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) held a call with Energy and Commerce Republicans to discuss the bill, according to Punchbowl News. The bill includes provisions to minimize the data that businesses and organizations can collect, keep and use, as well as a private right to action that lets individuals sue companies that misuse their personal data without consent.
Johnson and Scalise reportedly want significant changes to the bill, and Scalise told reporters earlier today that the private right to action is one hurdle to clear.
What they're saying: McMorris Rodgers put out a statement today saying that she is committed to seeing the bill enacted.
"At its core, the massive commercial surveillance of data is fueling the problem,” McMorris Rodgers said.
"Nearly every data point imaginable is being collected on us with no accountability. They are using our data against us, sowing division, manipulating truth and diminishing our personal identities. We cannot continue down this path. The American people are asking Congress to step up and pass a privacy bill."
Johnson issued a statement today as well saying he is “committed to working to build consensus in the House on a data privacy bill.”
This article was provided to OSAP by ASAE's Power of Associations and Inroads.