Congress agrees data privacy is a problem. So where’s the bill?

Congress has been promising federal privacy legislation for a year now and producing little more than a hodgepodge of conflicting piecemeal proposals. Now, at long last, one party’s leadership has stepped up to put the muscle of its caucus behind...a loose set of principles. Senate Democrats under Charles E. Schumer (D-NY) unveiled what is basically a wish list for a bill-to-be, supported by the ranking members of the four relevant committees. The showing of support lends some leverage to Sen Maria Cantwell (D-WA), who has been negotiating with Commerce Committee Chairman Roger Wicker (R-MS) in search of a bipartisan plan. And there’s a deadline: a hearing to be scheduled for early Dec, by which time lawmakers will either have to present some language or show up empty-handed.

The Democratic principles are promising in this regard: They rely on some long-standing concepts about Americans’ rights to know how firms handle their data, but they also direct the focus away from the consumer’s responsibility to read impenetrable terms of service and toward corporate responsibility to treat people’s data more responsibly and respectfully. Republicans should take the Democratic offer and run with it. Democrats, in turn, should stay serious about playing ball.