Partisan Rift Threatens Federal Data-Privacy Law

In 2018, Congress set the stage to pass a sweeping consumer data-privacy law in 2019, but prospects for legislation are dimming amid sharpening divides among lawmakers over how far the federal government should go in reining in Big Tech. Silicon Valley and its Republican allies are pushing for a national standard that would override state regulations—including California’s landmark 2018 law, which broadens the definition of personal information and gives consumers the right to prevent their data from being sold. They are running up against fierce resistance from Democrats, especially the party’s ascendant young progressives and its large California delegation. Many of these lawmakers are wary of the expanding influence of companies such as Facebook, Alphabet, and Amazon, and don’t want a national law that weakens state measures already in place.

“The fact that—even after many hearings last year on the misuse of personal data—not one consensus bill has been introduced is telling,” said Gigi Sohn of the Georgetown Law Institute for Technology and Policy. “Republicans and Democrats seem to still be far apart on the best way to address this problem.”