House Republicans on Wednesday unveiled a pair of bills to establish a nationwide standard for consumer data privacy, seeking to override a patchwork of state laws and impose new limits on how companies collect and use Americans' personal information.
The legislation, the SECURE Data Act and the GUARD Financial Data Act, would create parallel frameworks for nonfinancial companies and financial institutions, setting rules for how each sector handles consumer data.
Lawmakers said the effort is designed to give Americans more control over their personal information while simplifying compliance requirements for businesses operating across multiple states.
"The SECURE Data Act establishes clear, enforceable protections so that Americans remain in charge of their own data and companies are held accountable for its safe-keeping," Rep. Brett Guthrie, R-Ky., chair of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, and Rep. John Joyce, R-Pa., said in a joint statement.
According to a joint news release from the Energy and Commerce and Financial Services committees, the bills would "provide the American people more control over their data and set clear rules," while reflecting differences between financial and nonfinancial sectors.
The measures would grant consumers the right to access and obtain a copy of their data, request deletion of that data and transfer it to another provider. Companies would also be required to limit data collection to what is "adequate, relevant, and reasonably necessary" for a specific purpose and obtain opt-in consent before collecting or sharing sensitive information.
In addition, the legislation would establish a single federal standard for data privacy, preempting state-level laws that govern how companies handle personal information.
Republicans argue the approach would eliminate what they describe as a confusing and burdensome patchwork of state regulations.
"The bills establish national standards for the protection of Americans' personal data, ending the confusing and ineffective privacy patchwork currently in place," the committees said.
The legislation also seeks to avoid overlapping regulations by dividing oversight between sectors. The SECURE Data Act would apply to nonfinancial firms, while exempting financial institutions already covered under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act. The GUARD Financial Data Act, in turn, would focus specifically on financial institutions and their handling of nonpublic personal information.
Under the financial bill, institutions would be required to minimize data collection, provide ongoing opt-out rights and allow customers and former customers to request access to or delete their personal information, with certain exceptions.
The proposals stem from the all-Republican Energy and Commerce Data Privacy Working Group, led by Joyce, which includes several GOP lawmakers from the Energy and Commerce Committee tasked with developing a comprehensive federal privacy framework.
Congress has repeatedly failed to pass a nationwide data privacy law, leaving states such as California and Virginia to adopt their own rules. Republicans contend the new legislation would promote innovation and competition by lowering barriers for companies to operate nationwide, while strengthening protections for consumers.
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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