Pelosi in a bind as California leaders oppose federal privacy bill
Speaker of the Chamber Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) faces a quandary over data privacy.
House lawmakers are moving forward with a federal privacy bill that has drawn broad bipartisan support in Washington. But it has faced strong opposition from a host of California officials, who say it would undermine the state’s own data protections.
Now, as proponents push for the full House to vote on the measure, the chamber’s highest-ranking Californian will have to decide whether to try to reconcile those differences — and risk stalling talks altogether.
On Wednesday, the House Energy and Commerce Committee advanced legislation to minimize the amount of personal information companies can collect from users, marking the first time a congressional panel has advanced a so-called comprehensive privacy bill. of the consumer.
Lawmakers passed the American Privacy and Data Protection Act, HR8152, by an overwhelming vote of 53-2. But especially two of the seven California Democrats representing the panel. Anna Eshoo AND Nanette Barraganopposed it, and some others said they could not yet support it on the floor.
“California has the best privacy protections in the country. … I am concerned that the bill before us would threaten California’s privacy rights and protections,” Eshoo said during the memo, adding that the measure would override most state privacy laws.
“By excluding California’s ability to act, I believe you are doing my state and the country a disservice,” said Rep. Doris Matsui (D-Calif.), who voted to advance the bill out of committee, but said she could not support it on the House floor without “additional changes.”
Pelosi’s spokespeople did not return multiple requests for comment on the bill.
But when I asked Pelosi’s office about the issue more broadly in 2019, an aide said she “wants a privacy bill that will put consumers nationwide back in control of their information” and warned that the role of states “as policy innovator and enforcer of the law must be respected.”
Pelosi isn’t just facing pressure from members of her congressional delegation.
- Governor of California. Gavin Newsom (D) told congressional leaders in a letter last week that he had “significant concerns” that the federal privacy law would “undermine California’s comprehensive consumer privacy protections.” Newsom has raised the issue directly with Pelosi, the spokesman Daniel Lopez told The Technology 202.
- The California Privacy Protection Agency, which oversees the state’s privacy laws, said in a memo that congressional efforts to expand privacy protections statewide “would come at the expense of Californians’ rights,” as it first reported Bloomberg Govt.
- Attorney General of California Rob Bonta (D) led a letter with nine other state AGs urging congressional leaders to pass a law that would “continue to allow states to innovate to regulate data privacy.”
- Even state lawmakers are sounding the alarm. assembly member Buffy Wicks (D), who is leading efforts in California to increase protections for children online, urged Congress to reject proposals that would override children’s privacy laws at the state level.
Pelosi could push to secure more concessions for her home state before any floor vote, but many Democrats and Republicans may balk at that prospect.
Republicans have long insisted that any bipartisan privacy bill must bypass state laws to avoid a range of protections, and Democratic leaders warned last week that weakening their proposal’s preemptive language would blow up negotiations.
When Eshoo offered an amendment to the bill that would allow states to pass their own laws expanding federal protections, all of the California Democrats on the panel supported it. But it was overwhelmingly defeated, with committee leaders warning it could derail the talks.
“I’m not saying that what Ms. Eshoo wants to do isn’t fundamentally … a good idea, but it will ultimately kill this bill,” Speaker Frank Pallone Jr. (DN.J.) said opposing the measure.
Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) called the amendment a “poison pill.” She added, “The only way a bill will pass is if there is a compromise on the issue of prevention.”
Some privacy and civil rights advocates argue that federal law is significantly stronger than California’s privacy law, the California Consumer Privacy Act, as we reported.
And with the bill passing with near-unanimous support, it will likely be difficult for California members to secure significant changes. But it remains to be seen whether Pelosi will join them in their push, which could be a wild card in the negotiations.
Advocates ask Senate to advance children’s privacy, security bills
More than 100 advocacy groups want the Senate Commerce Committee to approve the bills at a committee meeting Wednesday, arguing the legislation could “significantly improve youth well-being by transforming the digital environment for children and teens.” Groups that signed the letters include Fairplay, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Psychological Association, the Center for Digital Democracy, Common Sense Media and the Eating Disorders Coalition.
“Taken together, the Children’s Online Safety Act and the Children’s and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act will prevent online platforms from exploiting the developmental vulnerabilities of young users and targeting them in unfair and abusive ways. harmful,” wrote the groups.
The stablecoin regulation bill is likely to be delayed until September
The bipartisan bill to add rules for so-called stablecoins — cryptocurrencies pegged to currencies like the dollar — hinged on an agreement between House Financial Services Committee Chairwoman Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) and Rep. Patrick T. McHenry (NC), the committee’s top Republican, of the Wall Street Journal Andrew Ackerman reports. The two lawmakers were unable to finish their work on the bill before Wednesday, when the committee was scheduled to vote.
“Lawmakers and their staff had been working through the weekend trying to resolve the remaining policy issues with the legislation, which senior Biden administration officials have been pushing for,” Ackerman wrote. “As of Monday morning, however, the bill had not been completed and at least some crucial issues remained unresolved.”
- Secretary of the Treasury Janet L. Yellen raised concerns with the bill to Waters and Treasury’s suggested changes to the bill made this weekend’s negotiations more difficult, Politico said Sam Sutton reports. The bill could still be unveiled this week, but they haven’t reached a deal in time for Wednesday’s assessment, Sutton reports.
Spokesmen for McHenry and Waters did not respond to media requests for comment.
Cantwell stands firm in opposing the bipartisan privacy proposal
Senate Commerce Chair Mary Cantwell (D-Wash.) railed against the American Privacy and Data Protection Act in an interview with The Spokesman-Review’s Orion Donovan-Smith. Here are some highlights from the interview:
- “The problem is that it takes a long time for the House to realize what strong enforcement looks like,” Cantwell told Donovan-Smith. “If you are charitable, you call it ignorance. If you think it’s intentional, it literally won’t pass the House because they just won’t stand up to the test of what a strong federal bill looks like.”
- “Since I’ve been on the Commerce Committee, big data companies have been pushing to get a weak federal bill to override the strong state law,” Cantwell said. “Even those civil rights groups have been infiltrated by people who are trying to get them to support a weak bill.”
- Cantwell says she is “considering what our next moves are” and will “look at our timetable” regarding a potential legislative enactment.
Kylie Jenner has weighed in on Instagram’s redesign, criticizing it for “trying to be TikTok,” Bloomberg News Sarah Freer reports. More from Frier:
The Jenner and Kardashian sisters run businesses that rely on Instagram showing their content to their followers. In their shoes, I’d also be upset with an algorithm change that prioritizes exposing people to new types of entertainment.
– Sarah Frier (@sarahfrier) July 25, 2022
If I were a Jenner, my main concern would be that replacing my expensive sponsored content feed posts with Reels of random origin would be bad for business. But it doesn’t tug at the heartstrings in the same way that “Instagram should be for friends”
— Casey Newton (@CaseyNewton) July 25, 2022
Jenner has 360 million followers on Instagram. Some context from the journalist Frank Pallotta:
Biden meets with CEOs, workers; backs bill to boost US chip production (Reuters)
Amazon pushes back on US labor board case over fired warehouse worker (Reuters)
Liz Truss vows to crack down on Chinese firms like TikTok if she becomes UK prime minister (Bloomberg)
Instagram faces more accusations that it’s ‘addictive’ and ‘harmful’ (CNET)
Tesla boosts spending plan, reveals new call in Musk’s 2018 post (Reuters)
Russia fines Google $34 million for violating competition rules (Reuters)
President Joe Biden’s Zoom setup starts with a $7,000 rotating touchscreen (The Verge)
- Sens. Christmas cinema (D-Ariz.) and Todd C. Young (R-Ind.) discuss semiconductor legislation at a Washington Post Live event today at 4:10 p.m.
- Google parent Alphabet and Microsoft hold earnings calls today at 5:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m.
- Senate Commerce Committee to debate child privacy and safety legislation Wednesday at 10 a.m.
- A House Homeland Security Committee panel holds a hearing on the use of facial recognition technology by U.S. Customs and Border Protection on Wednesday at 2 p.m.
- Facebook parent Meta holds an earnings call on Wednesday at 5 p.m
- Apple and Amazon hold earnings calls on Thursday at 5:00 PM and 5:30 PM
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