New privacy legislation could be a reality in the current political climate

Lawmakers are ready to push for new privacy rules. They’re serious this time, several senators said during a recent hearing.

While federal data privacy legislation failed to pass in the past three sessions of Congress, several senators and members of the Federal Trade Commission are pushing lawmakers to move forward. Sens. Roger Wicker, Jerry Moran, and Marsha Blackburn all called for Congress to pass a new federal data privacy law when speaking at an April 20 hearing on strengthening the Federal Trade Commission. Other senators asked FTC members what tools they needed to protect privacy better.