Concord Privacy News: 2/28/25

US House of Representatives Launches New Push for Federal Privacy Law

US House of Representatives has formed a working group to draft federal privacy legislation aimed at replacing the current patchwork of state laws. The nine-member group seeks to establish uniform national privacy standards.

This initiative follows the failure of previous federal privacy bills, including the American Data Privacy and Protection Act (2022) and the American Privacy Rights Act (2024). Both bills faced challenges regarding state law preemption, particularly in states with stronger existing protections like California.

The working group's formation comes after more than three dozen industry groups recently urged Congressional leaders to create federal privacy standards. These groups argue that a uniform framework would provide much-needed consistency for businesses while protecting consumer privacy.

"We strongly believe that a national data privacy standard is necessary to protect Americans' rights online and maintain our country's global leadership in digital technologies, including artificial intelligence," said Chairman Brett Guthrie and Vice Chairman John Joyce in a joint statement.

Legal experts suggest that any successful legislation will likely need to be less prescriptive than previous attempts, with enforcement limited to federal authorities. Supporters believe this effort has a stronger chance of success than past initiatives.

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Other Privacy News of Note

Texas Investigates Chinese AI Firm DeepSeek Over Privacy and Security Concerns

Texas has launched an investigation into DeepSeek, a Chinese artificial intelligence company they believe is connected to the Chinese Communist Party. The probe will scrutinize the company's data privacy practices and assertions that its AI model is on par with sophisticated models like OpenAI's Model o1. Read more.

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New York’s Health Data Privacy Bill Would Make State Toughest in Nation

Last month, New York state lawmakers passed the New York Health Information Privacy Act, or HIPA, and if Gov. Kathy Hochul signs the bill, it will make New York the toughest state on health data privacy. New York’s HIPA would offer protections to “regulated health information,” much like the My Health, My Data Act in Washington, which in 2023 became the first state to codify in law protections for consumer health data. Read more.