WASHINGTON — The presidential election is just over five months away, but top Republicans and Democrats in Congress see a crucial window to pass sweeping legislation to protect the online data of both children and adults from Big Tech companies.
“I believe there is a moment here when Congress must act on behalf of the American people,” said chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Cathy McMorris Rodgerssaid, R-Wash., in an interview on the Capitol steps.
“There is a recognition, on behalf of protecting our children online, in protecting all Americans, that we need to ensure that privacy rights exist… and that our identities are protected online and that we are in control of our data, ” she said.
The Energy and Commerce subcommittee, which oversees online data, will take the first step in advancing privacy legislation by raising the U.S. Privacy Rights Act on Thursday, broad legislation that includes privacy protections for children and adults, as well as the Kids Online Safety Act .
The bills would go to the full Energy and Commerce Committee in June before a possible vote in the House of Representatives.
McMorris Rodgers, who is close to Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La. state, said Johnson has not committed to holding a floor vote on the privacy bill. But it is expected to have strong bipartisan support as she has worked on it for months with a fellow powerful lawmaker from Washington state who chairs the Senate Commerce Committee. Maria Cantwella democrat.
Listen to McMorris Rodgers’ interview on the “Chuck Toddcast” here.
A revised bill was announced this week to address critics’ concerns.
The U.S. Privacy Rights Act would create national rights to consumer data privacy and set federal standards for securing people’s data, rather than a patchwork of state laws. The legislation would, among other things, require companies to be clear about how they use people’s data and “give consumers the right to access, correct, delete and export their data,” according to a summary of the bill. The bill would also limit how companies collect and use data and prohibit the transfer of certain data to third parties without consent.
The measure includes the bipartisan bill to protect the online data of children and teens, known as COPPA 2.0.
“I view the U.S. Privacy Rights Act as fundamental to protecting children online, and fundamental to protecting our individual identities online,” said McMorris Rodgers.
The bipartisan privacy bill is gaining momentum just weeks after McMorris Rodgers and Cantwell reached a compromise on legislation that would force TikTok’s Chinese owner ByteDance to sell the popular video-sharing app or face a ban in The United States. President Joe Biden signed the TikTok bill into law. law as part of a larger national security package.
Passage of the privacy package would mark a huge legislative victory for McMorris Rodgers, who is retiring after nearly two decades in Congress. And some lawmakers believe the pair of presidents can build on their TikTok success even as the election is in full swing and partisan attacks fly across Capitol Hill and the campaign trail.
“I like them both; they are both very competent,” said Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., a former member of the House of Representatives who worked with both on their respective committees.
“You can see an election year in two ways: a reason not to do that [act] and a compelling reason to take action. People care about their privacy; it’s a huge problem, and they think it’s important that we stand up to technology to protect them,” Welch added. “So I think it’s good electoral politics for both parties.”
Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., another member of the Commerce Committee, said he is still reviewing the bill but “conceptually” supports expanded national data privacy legislation.
“I think there might be an opportunity,” Young said in an interview. “This is clearly a challenging issue, which is why it has taken several years, without resolution, to arrive at a national standard.
“But I think given our continued competition between the US and China, the recent legislative successes we’ve had on that front and the emergence of a true AI revolution,” he said, “these two things create renewed enthusiasm about this issue.”
During the push to reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration this month, Democrats and Republicans on the Senate Commerce Committee huddled on the chamber floor and discussed ways to advance the privacy package, said Sen. Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M., who participated. in the conversations.
“I believe there is room and there is momentum and support to get this done before the end of the calendar year,” Lujan said.
Not all members of the House and Senate Commerce Committees are on board yet. Ted Cruz of Texas, the top Republican on the Senate Commerce Committee, is reviewing the updated legislation; he pointed to his statement last month in response to an initial bill unveiled in April: “I cannot support any data privacy bill that empowers trial lawyers, empowers Big Tech by imposing crushing new regulatory costs on upstarts competitors or that gives unprecedented power to the FTC to become arbiters of internet speech and DEI compliance.”
“DEI” is the initials for “diversity, equity and inclusion” measures.
And Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., who represents parts of Silicon Valley, sent a memo to Cantwell outlining concerns about the April bill. Eshoo does not want federal law to preempt stricter state privacy laws, such as those in California. And in a post-Dobbs ruling world, where the Supreme Court has struck down the federal right to abortion, Eshoo wants to eliminate any potential loopholes that could expose data about women’s reproductive health. Her team is still reviewing the new version of the bill.
“I went through the draft, went through it, spoke to experts and sent it to the chairman and ranking member, as well as to every member who asked me what I thought,” Eshoo said on Wednesday.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
