Moran sponsors bill to establish federal consumer data privacy standard

Legislation introduced last week by U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran (R-KS) aims to protect consumer privacy by providing consumers and companies with a uniform federal standard that lays out robust protections for consumers’ personal data.

“Without action from Congress, consumers will continue to be vulnerable to future threats against their personal data, and innovators and job creators will be plagued with regulatory uncertainty resulting from a growing patchwork of state laws,” Sen. Moran said. “It is clear that Congress needs to act.” 

Sen. Moran sponsored the Consumer Data Privacy and Security Act of 2021, S. 1494, to bolster the laws that govern consumers’ personal data and provide a clear, measurable standard for American businesses that is technology-neutral, according to a bill summary provided by the senator’s office.

“More and more Americans are recognizing the need for a clear federal standard for data privacy that guarantees them the ability to determine how their personal data is used,” said Sen. Moran. “Americans need to be able to count on strong baseline responsibilities that businesses must uphold when collecting, processing and protecting their personally identifiable information.”

If enacted, S. 1494 would provide consumers with control over their own data to access, correct and erase their personal data; require businesses that collect and process personal data to take extra precautionary steps to protect and responsibly process that data; and prohibit companies from collecting data without consumers’ consent with limited and specific exceptions, among other provisions, according to the bill summary.

For instance, the bill would establish a “right to access,” which would require a covered entity to confirm whether it has collected or processed the personal data of an individual submitting a verified request and, if so, provide the individual a copy or accurate representation of the personal data and a list of third parties to which the covered entity disclosed the personal data, according to the summary.

Notice and consent requirements also would be included in S. 1494 for covered entities, third parties, and service providers regarding their specific relationship to the personal data in question, and would require a covered entity to make its privacy policy available to the public in a clear and prominent location and in easy-to-understand language, the summary says.

The bill has garnered support from several business and privacy organizations, such as the National Retail Federation, the Main Street Privacy Coalition, BSA – The Software Alliance, NTCA – The Rural Broadband Association, and the Kansas City Tech Council.

“I encourage my colleagues to support the Consumer Data Privacy and Security Act as the federal standard for comprehensive privacy legislation,” Sen. Moran said.