The Department of Commerce is seeking comments on a proposal to enhance U.S. data-privacy rules by giving consumers more control over how businesses gather and use their personal information.
Since California passed a landmark privacy law earlier this year, U.S. businesses have been pushing the Trump administration and Congress to advance legislation on the issue to avoid a patchwork approach to regulation across the country. Concerned about the cost of compliance, companies also worry that America could lose its position as a global tech leader after the European Union implemented its own sweeping privacy law in May.
The Trump administration’s proposed framework is “designed to provide high levels of protection for individuals,” while still providing organizations the certainty they desire, the department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration said.
It will aim to increase transparency for users around how businesses collect and use their information, give users more control over their data, minimize the amount of personal information businesses store, and increase the onus on companies to protect such data.
“The United States has a long history of protecting individual privacy, but our challenges are growing as technology becomes more complex, interconnected, and integrated into our daily lives,” Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information David Redl said in a statement.
Redl told reporters on Tuesday that the agency has only held “preliminary conversations with staff on Capitol Hill,” but plans to put together a proposal that it can share with lawmakers after the comment period ends. He declined to say directly whether the administration would seek legislation on the issue.
“We’re waiting to see what the comments all say,” Redl said. “If the comments come back that legislation is the path forward that makes the most sense…then certainly we’ll continue that path forward.”
A bipartisan group of senators earlier this month urged Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross to include Congress on the agency’s work on consumer privacy.
The Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology is also working on a parallel privacy framework designed to “help organization manage risk,” the NTIA added.
