There’s One Big Problem With the New Federal Data Privacy Bill [Video]

Americans have wanted a federal privacy law for years but intensive lobbying by the tech industry and general incompetence by our federal legislators has repeatedly thwarted that desire. Well, in 2024, it’s possible that we may finally get a strong federal privacy law.

I’ll say it again: It’s possible. It’s also technically possible that frogs could rain from the sky over lower Manhattan, coating New Yorkers in a spring shower of amphibious guts, but is that actually likely to happen?

The American Privacy Rights Act of 2024, recently introduced by Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) and Maria Cantwell (D-WA), would create basic digital privacy protections for Americans. The law, if enacted, would create a variety of protections and rights for consumers, including the ability to access, control, and delete information collected by companies.

While that may sound like a good thing, there’s one aspect of the legislation that privacy advocates seem concerned …