The American Privacy Rights Act (PPE) v.s. the Fourth Corner of the Senate Commerce and House E&C Leadership: Reply to Cantwell and Representative Rodgers

It was the first sign that Congress could break the long-standing impasse in passing such protections after a pair of bipartisan lawmakers released a new proposal on Sunday.

The American Privacy Rights Act is the most comprehensive data privacy proposal in a long time. The draft bill would grant consumers new rights regarding how their information is used and moved around by large companies and data brokers while giving them the ability to sue when those rights are violated.

It’s the first major bipartisan proposal for a comprehensive privacy bill since the American Data Privacy Protection Act was introduced two years ago. But that bill lacked Cantwell’s support, the missing piece of the so-called four corners of Senate Commerce and House E&C leadership that backed the proposal. Her failure to support that bill ultimately stalled what, at the time, was the most significant comprehensive bipartisan digital privacy agreement.

Congress tried for a long time to create a law protecting user data. Lawmakers have remained divided, though, on whether that legislation should prevent states from issuing tougher rules, and whether to allow a “private right of action” that would enable people to sue companies in response to privacy violations.

McMorris Rodgers claimed in an interview with the Spokesman Review on Sunday that the draft language is stronger than any active laws because it is meant to be comforting to the Democrats who have fought attempts to allow states to decide if they want to protect their residents from deportation. Privacy laws can be passed by states according to their own rules, as well as consumer protections and civil rights.

Cantwell objected to the hurdles the earlier bill put in place for individuals to sue for alleged violations of their privacy rights, an E&C aide noted on the call with reporters, like requiring them to notify their state attorney general and the Federal Trade Commission before filing suit. The new discussion draft doesn’t have the same requirement and includes a strong private right of action, meaning individual consumers can sue companies covered by the legislation if they believe their rights were violated.

“I think we have threaded a very important needle here,” Cantwell told the Spokesman Review. The standards that California, Illinois, and Washington have are being preserved.

The bill will need to be brought to the attention of both the Senate and the House, and advanced through each committee to have the chance to become law. While aides for the committees told a group of reporters on a background call Sunday that there was not yet a target date for introduction, Rodgers said in the statement she expects the bill to move “through regular order” on her committee this month.

It gives companies a chance to correct their behavior. The company must cure the problem in 30 days if the people want to file a lawsuit. The bill does not require notice before a claim is filed for ” substantial privacy harm.” It could include financial loss of at least $10,000, as well as physical or mental harm.

The proposal is strong but there are still some key areas where we can strengthen it, especially in regard to the privacy of children. Pallone added that he’s “optimistic that we’ll be able to build on that record as Chair Rodgers and I work together to get comprehensive privacy legislation across the finish line.”

Cruz said he would be studying the bill to make sure it was not as flawed as the American Data Privacy and Protection Act. He indicated that he may have issues with the new proposal. “In particular, I cannot support any data privacy bill that empowers trial lawyers, strengthens Big Tech by imposing crushing new regulatory costs on upstart competitors or gives unprecedented power to the FTC to become referees of internet speech and DEI compliance,” Cruz said.

The draft proposal is coming as the House moves forward with legislation to ban or force the sale of TikTok, and a separate bill to ban data brokers from selling US consumer data to foreign adversaries. A Commerce aide told reporters the draft bill is completely separate from the one about TikTok and there are no current plans to move them in tandem.