Bipartisan lawmakers unveiled a sweeping data privacy bill: Here's how it could change social media

WASHINGTON – Bipartisan lawmakers announced new legislation Sunday that would set the first-ever national standards for data privacy, a move that comes as a growing number of Americans raise concerns about the way social media platforms and other companies deploy their information.

The bill would transform how social media companies and online search engines use consumers' personal data in a push to give Americans more control.

If passed, the proposal – called the American Privacy Rights Act – would set standards for how companies like Meta, TikTok, Google and others can gather, use and sell user data, requiring them to collect only the amount necessary to provide products and services.

It would override a patchwork of state data privacy laws and give consumers the ability to sue companies that break the rules.

The proposal would also allow users to stop their data from being transferred to other companies and require platforms to allow users to change, delete or export their own information.

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The bill comes from Senate Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., and House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Catchy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash. The legislation marks the most significant step forward in regulating data privacy at the federal level.

"This bipartisan, bicameral draft legislation is the best opportunity we’ve had in decades to establish a national data privacy and security standard that gives people the right to control their personal information," Cantwell and McMorris Rodgers said in a joint statement.

"Americans deserve the right to control their data and we’re hopeful that our colleagues in the House and Senate will join us in getting this legislation signed into law."

A report released by the Pew Research Center last year found that approximately 77% of Americans have little or no trust in the leaders of social media companies to take responsibility if they misuse data. And 78% of Democrats and 68% of Republicans say there should be additional regulation from the government about what companies can do with consumer information.

But agreement on legislation that would give Americans greater privacy online has eluded lawmakers for years: A proposal unveiled in 2022 crumbled under opposition from California Democrats, including then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.

That's not the only reason the legislation faces an uphill climb. McMorris Rodgers is leaving Congress in January, which gives lawmakers a short window to push the legislation through during a contentious election year, when legislating is notoriously difficult.

The United States lags behind other countries in protecting user privacy – the European Union enacted sweeping regulations for use of personal data in 2018.

The proposal also comes as the Senate considers legislation passed by the House that would force TikTok's parent company to sell the social media app or face a practical ban in the United States. The move has been fueled by national security concerns over the company's ties to the Chinese government.