When Senate Revisits Cybersecurity Bill, Voters Will Be Rooting For Privacy

In the days leading up to the August recess, Senate leaders seemed optimistic they could strike a deal on a pending cybersecurity bill. But a battle over privacy rights forced them to push consideration of the measure to September, while agreeing to limit the number of amendments. New polling shows voters want those amendments to include privacy protections: A significant majority say they are against government control of personal data. That’s at odds with the Senate measure, which would provide incentives for private companies that share consumer information with the government in an effort to defend against cyberthreats whenever they’re detected.

Seventy percent of registered voters say they are not okay with the federal government being in possession of and sharing their personal information, even if that means keeping that information safe from a cyberattack. There was little division along party lines: 73 percent of Republicans and 62 percent of Democrats oppose federal agents handling their data. Twenty-four percent of voters say they’re fine with the government possessing and disseminating their information. At the same time, a separate poll showed voters don’t take the potential of a cyberattack lightly: 76 percent say they are concerned about the United States falling victim to a cyberattack.