Next Steps for the American Privacy Rights Act

House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) joined NewsNation’s Markie Martin on Wake Up America this morning to discuss the Committee’s legislative hearing on the American Privacy Rights Act as well as next steps for the draft legislation. Highlights and excerpts from the interview below:

PUTTING AMERICANS IN CONTROL OF THEIR DATA

“[This bill] would mean that you would be able to know what profile [companies] have collected on you.

“There would be a limited amount of data that would be collected to begin with, sensitive data, like your location data and your search engine history—personal information that identifies you.

[...]

“It puts individuals back in control. This is important to all Americans.

“Parents are calling upon Congress to act because we know that too many people are being targeted, especially our kids, and manipulated for dangerous purposes.”

DANGERS OF UNCHECKED DATA COLLECTION

"Ultimately it is Big Tech that is manipulating how you think and how you act.

“We heard testimony yesterday at the hearing from a young lady, Ava, who talked about the troves of data, really an arsenal of data, that had been collected on her by her search history, but also just staying on a post for too long.

“They were able to identify her vulnerabilities and ultimately take her down this path that led to an eating disorder.

“And unfortunately, these are the kinds of stories that are repeated over and over where they're able to predict how we think and how we act and, too many times, bad actors are using it for purposes that are very destructive.”

NEXT STEPS FOR THE AMERICAN PRIVACY RIGHTS ACT

“Members on both sides of the aisle know that we need to act.

“I'm really excited that we've been able to hammer out an agreed upon proposal that is bipartisan and also bicameral. House and Senate, Republicans and Democrats coming together.

“We've been working on this for years, but now is the time to act.

“At yesterday's hearing in the House, members on both sides of the aisle expressed so much encouragement for a draft proposal, a national privacy standard, that we will be able to put into place to protect all Americans online, but especially our children.

“Many members have been involved in efforts through the years but the time to act is now and we've reached an agreement on a draft bill that we plan to keep moving through this process.

“As the Chair of the Committee, we had the hearing, now we're going to start working through actually introducing the bill, as well as the kids’ online safety bills, and moving them through the legislative process to get them onto the Floor and ultimately the President's desk.”