Today, Senator Maria Cantwell, joined by Senators Brian Schatz, Amy Klobuchar and Ed Markey, introduced the Consumer Online Privacy Rights Act of 2019, which, among other things, seeks to protect user privacy online, allows consumers to access and control their data and requires strong data security protections.  The following statement should be attributed to Gigi Sohn:

Senators Cantwell, Schatz, Klobuchar and Markey have delivered legislation for which all Americans can be thankful this holiday season. The Consumer Online Privacy Rights Act of 2019 is a thorough and powerful consumer-focused bill that includes foundational consumer rights to access and control of data, strong data security  protections, and effective enforcement and accountability mechanisms. Importantly, it recognizes that states must be empowered to continue the conversation and enact stronger protections as necessary. This bill should be the starting point for any conversation about the proper scope of comprehensive federal privacy legislation, which must also include significant restrictions on collection of American’s data.  

The American people have gone without comprehensive privacy protections for far too long and the economic, social and personal harms have been many and real. I look forward to Congress’ speedy consideration and passage of this bill. 

Gigi Sohn is a Distinguished Fellow at the Georgetown Institute for Technology Law and Policy and a Benton Senior Fellow and Public Advocate. She served as Counselor to Former FCC Chairman from November 2013-December 2016.  While at the FCC, she worked on the 2016 Broadband Privacy Rules.