On Thursday, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., called on key senators to back his proposal to protect Americans’ data privacy.
Rubio wrote U.S Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., the chairman of the U.S. Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, and U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., the top Democrat on the committee, to pass his “American Data Dissemination Act.”
“As numerous states have enacted, or continue to consider, data privacy laws, it has become clear that congressional action is needed to provide a national privacy policy that provides clear and consistent protections that both consumers and companies can understand,” Rubio’s office insisted.
Rubio called on the senators to pass his bill “in order to ensure that consumers are provided with a national data privacy law that protects consumers while still protecting the ability of small businesses and start-ups to compete in the digital marketplace.”
“Although there is consensus across government, industry, and the American public about the need for a national privacy law, Congress has yet to take discernible action to address the privacy concerns raised by individuals, consumer groups and other interested parties. While this is a complex topic subject to legitimate policy disagreements about the best path forward to both protect consumers and our digital economy, it has become clear that decisive action is necessary. I believe the ADD Act provides the necessary framework to allow a consensus to be reached at the committee on the data privacy protections needed to adequately protect the American public,” Rubio wrote. “Thank you for your consideration and I look forward to assisting in any way to ensure that this important topic is addressed.”
Rubio’s bill is not getting much traction on Capitol Hill. First proposed in January, the bill has been before the committee since then. So far, Rubio has not been able to reel in any cosponsors. There is no companion bill over in the U.S. House.
Reach Kevin Derby at kevin.derby@floridadaily.com.
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