Consensus and Controversy in the Debate Over US Federal Data Privacy Legislation

Numerous lawmakers and organizations have offered proposals or recommendations regarding a new U.S. federal data privacy law. To shine more light on the specific provisions that are being debated, we look here at a set of bills that have been introduced in Congress in the past year, from the Consumer Data Protection Act introduced by Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., to the Algorithmic Accountability Act of 2019 and the Do Not Track Act, among many others.

Further, we examine a selection of recommendations made in comments submitted to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration from across government, industry, and advocacy organizations in response to a set of desired privacy outcomes.

Lastly, we identify several areas of broad agreement as well as pointed disagreement regarding the nature, shape, and scope of a potential U.S. federal data privacy law.