Federal Privacy Law Efforts Move Forward in Congress

The Chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee and other key Republican Senators released a final version of a draft privacy bill that would significantly transform privacy law nationwide, while also taking aim at use of online algorithms.  While Senate Democrats have offered proposals that would go further, the Senate Commerce Committee held a hearing on Wednesday that was aimed at attempting to find common ground for legislation, including by hearing testimony from a bipartisan group of former Federal Trade Commissioners—including three former Chairs—who were broadly supportive of the proposed legislation.  Important differences remain, but given the repeated calls for a federal privacy law from a diverse group of stakeholders and the pressure for a federal solution in light of individual state privacy efforts, companies should pay close attention to federal proposals that increasingly appear to mark a baseline for a federal privacy law.