Today, the House Energy and Commerce Committee marked up and reported out Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) and Ranking Member Frank Pallone’s (D-NJ) bipartisan bill, “Protecting Americans’ Data from Foreign Adversaries Act of 2024.” The bill prohibits data brokers from selling the public’s sensitive personal information to foreign adversaries or entities controlled by foreign adversaries, including China. Public Knowledge applauds the Committee for moving to secure Americans’ data privacy and urges Congress to pass this bill as well as develop comprehensive privacy legislation.
The following can be attributed to Sara Collins, Director of Government Affairs at Public Knowledge:
“Public Knowledge is pleased to see Reps. McMorris Rodgers and Pallone prioritize protecting Americans’ personal data from foreign adversaries. This is a good first step and signals their continued commitment to work on introducing and passing a comprehensive federal privacy law.
“Protecting Americans’ data requires Congress to take steps to fix the entirety of the online data ecosystem. One-off measures against specific companies under scrutiny, like TikTok, can at best make a tiny impact on the amount of consumer data collected while eliminating a popular tool for free expression. At worst, a bill targeting one company gives Congress a pass at doing something that provides privacy to everyone.
“We hope that this markup redoubles Congress’ effort to pass a comprehensive privacy law like the ‘American Data Privacy and Protection Act.’ New innovations like generative artificial intelligence continue at a rapid pace, while Congress has failed to reintroduce and vote on this broadly popular, bipartisan bill. Congress is running out of time this year to pass this foundational consumer protection.”
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