At a Glance.
- House and Senate Commerce Committees unveil new bipartisan data privacy bill.
- Senator McConnell announces his support to force the sale of TikTok.
Congress reveals new bipartisan data privacy bill.
The News.
On Sunday, the chairs of the House and Senate Commerce committees unveiled a proposed draft of a new data privacy bill. With this proposed bill, Democratic Senator Maria Cantwell and Republican Representative Cathy Rodgers released the first iteration of the American Privacy Rights Act. With this announcement, the bill's sponsors stated that the act would establish “clear, national data privacy rights and protections for Americans.”
With this new bill, legislators are aiming to create a new national standard for privacy that will be stronger than any existing state law. Additionally, the law will also give United States (US) citizens more control over their data with the right to prevent companies from transferring or selling their data, the right to sue “bad actors” who have violated their privacy rights, opt out of targeted advertising efforts, and allow citizens to access their data.
The Knowledge.
With this announcement, Congress is making another attempt to pass a comprehensive privacy bill aimed at setting a new national standard for consumer protection and privacy. While there were several attempts in recent years to address this long-standing problem, each of these previous initiatives failed, leaving the burden to address this issue with various state legislatures. While some states have managed to pass strong privacy legislation, as seen with California’s Consumer Privacy Act, this paradigm has resulted in a series of confusing patchwork regulations and standards being implemented that change from state to state. Additionally, these individual state laws, do not apply to the entire US making their efforts less beneficial for the average US citizen.
While this new bill has yet to be passed, it would mark a significant change in how the US federal government has approached consumer privacy in recent years and would go a long way in addressing the nation’s significant privacy shortfalls.
The Impact.
While this new act has only just been introduced, it is representative of the growing pressure nationwide for Congress to address the significant lack of consumer privacy rights within the US. For US citizens this would mark a notable change in their rights to privacy and data protection on the internet and would greatly expand consumers' rights to access and delete their data as well as hold “bad actors” more accountable for violating their privacy rights.
For companies collecting data in the US, businesses should monitor the bill's progress as it moves through Congress to make sure that they would not be held liable for violating any of the new data privacy provisions if passed. While businesses will need to ensure that they are not liable for infringing on these new privacy rights, this new act will also simplify existing regulations as this new national standard will supersede existing state laws. This process will enable businesses to simplify their privacy efforts as they will now need to only focus on one significant privacy bill rather than one from each state that they operate within.
Senator McConnell endorses efforts to force the sale of TikTok.
The News.
On Monday, Senator Mitch McConnell endorsed the effort that would force the sale of TikTok. With his endorsement, Senator McConnell stated that he believes that the popular social media application is treated as a “tool of surveillance and propaganda” by the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and gives the PRC full access to the data of American users. While TikTok officials have repeatedly refuted these claims stating that user data is protected, members of Congress still raise numerous concerns related to the app's ties to the PRC.
The Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act originally passed the House in March a week after the bill was introduced with overwhelming support with a 352-65 vote. The bill has since sat with the Senate where the bill has yet to be voted upon. Critics of the bill have expressed concerns with how fast the bill is being pushed through Congress, with prominent Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) stating that “this bill was incredibly rushed, from committee to vote in four days, with little explanation.” AOC continued by stating that this bill deals with “serious antitrust and privacy questions…and any national security concerns should be laid out to the public prior to a vote.”
The Knowledge.
With this latest effort, the bill has moved closer to passing through the Senate as Senator McConnell is the current Senate Minority Leader and represents Republican interests within the chamber. President Biden also has previously raised his support for the initiative in March before it had been passed by the House stating that he would sign the proposed legislation if the bill was passed by both chambers. If signed into law, then ByteDance, the owner of TikTok, would be required to sell ownership of the application within three months or be forced to cease business operations within the US.
These efforts to address TikTok come after months of officials and security experts repeatedly raising their concerns surrounding the application and its potentially invasive nature. Previously, in early 2023, the Biden administration as well as several states signed legislation that banned the application from being installed on government-owned devices citing their security concerns. These efforts were followed later in 2023 with the introduction of the RESTRICT Act. This act, like the current one being debated, would have also mandated the sale of the application but was never signed into law.
The Impact.
While no new progress has been made to pass the “Tik Tok” ban bill within the Senate, Senator McConnall’s support demonstrates significant pressure mounting from within Congress to address this issue. While the Senate has not set an official vote for the bill at this time, US citizens should expect the Senate to schedule a vote over the coming weeks to address the application.
For businesses and individuals that utilize and rely on the application, users should prepare themselves for the possibility that the application is forced to be sold and any potential changes or disruptions that may occur during this transition.
Other Noteworthy Stories.
Biden announces new investment deal with Taiwan-based semiconductor manufacturer.
What: President Biden’s administration has announced a new deal with a Taiwan semiconductor manufacturer for US investments.
Why: On Monday, the Biden administration announced a new multi-billion dollar deal with the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) to create new semiconductor construction facilities in the US. The agreement would provide $6.6 billion in funding and a $65 million investment for constructing three facilities in Phoenix, Arizona. Additionally, this deal includes an additional $50 million investment to train the local workforce. This funding was provided through the CHIPS and Science Act, passed in 2022 with bipartisan support.
House panel set to hold hearing on both privacy and children safety bills.
What: House panel announces hearing related to proposed privacy and children safety bills.
Why: Next week, the House has announced that the House’s Energy and Commerce Committee will hold a hearing related to discussing several technology policy bills, including a newly unveiled comprehensive data privacy bill and several bills related to children’s online safety. The bills slated for discussion will be related to the newly unveiled American Privacy Rights Act, an update to the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, and the Kids Online Safety Act. While none of these bills have been passed, they come after Congress has faced increasing scrutiny and pressure from both citizens and state officials to pass more comprehensive legislation to protect children from online exploitation and protect consumer privacy.
Germany announces a military overhaul to focus on cyber threats.
What: Germany’s defense minister announced new military plans to increase the nation’s attention on cyber threats.
Why: Last Thursday, Germany’s Defense Minister, Boris Pistorius, announced Germany’s intention to overhaul its military structure to create a new central command center as well as a dedicated branch that will handle cyberspace. The new central command will combine two commands for domestic and foreign deployments. With this announcement, Minister Pistorius has also requested an additional 6.5 billion euros in the military’s 2025 budget to begin undertaking these two initiatives.
House set to debate renewal of Section 702 bill, along with proposed amendments.
What: The House Rules Committee has voted in favor of floor debate for reauthorizing Section 702 with several proposed amendments.
Why: On Tuesday, the House Rules Committee voted 9-2 in favor of moving a measure to renew Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Act to the House floor for debate. This development marks the third time that the Rules Committee has attempted to move the bill to the floor for reauthorization. As the House considers renewing Section 702, it will also consider five proposed amendments. Debates for renewing the bill began Wednesday afternoon. For context, Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Act expands the federal government’s capacity to conduct surveillance operations on suspected foreign terrorists. Additionally, the provision permitted the National Security Agency the right to acquire communications from almost any foreigner without needing to obtain an individualized court order. This provision has long been criticized due to concerns related to government officials being able to access communications of US citizens that are being sent to foreign persons.
Section 702 will be sunsetted on April 19th if the House does not pass its renewal.