How will data privacy bills fare in the lame-duck Congress?

Hello all! For those of you who celebrated, I hope you had a restful Thanksgiving with friends and family. 

It’s an interesting time of year at Osano—we’re dealing with the hustle and bustle of the holiday season like everyone else, but we’re also keeping a close eye on U.S. legislatures now that the midterm elections are over. 

Several state legislatures have gained lawmakers who have been involved in crafting data privacy legislation in the past. Five U.S. states already have privacy laws on the books (California, Connecticut, Virginia, Colorado, Utah). With the new set of representatives stepping into their roles, we’re likely to see that figure grow.

At the same time, data privacy laws at the federal level face an uncertain future. Proponents have been pushing for laws like the American Data Privacy Protection Act (ADPPA), the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), and the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) 2.0 to be advanced during the lame-duck session of Congress. 

For the unfamiliar, a “lame duck” is an elected official whose successor has been elected—normally it connotes a politician with little influence or ability to push things forward. But both the House and Senate currently reside in Democrats’ hands; when Republicans take control of the House, privacy proponents fear that the two parties’ differences will make it impossible to compromise on data privacy laws. Thus, numerous privacy advocacy groups are pushing for action on data privacy now. However, it’s important to keep in mind that data privacy enjoys bipartisan support; just because the political landscape is changing next year doesn’t mean data privacy bills are doomed.

So, there’s a lot that we’re keeping our eye on at Osano—and that’s on top of all the gift-giving, travel, and family visits that go on during the holiday season. Nevertheless, if anything major happens in the world of data privacy during this holiday season, you’ll hear about it in Privacy Insider.

Best,

Arlo

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