ANALYSIS: Is Federal Privacy Illusory or Are Stars Aligning?

Is it the dawning of the Age of Consumer Privacy? An examination of the most recent proposals for federal privacy legislation may suggest as much. While the devil, as they say, is in the details, it’s encouraging to see common themes in the two principal bills: the Consumer Online Privacy Rights Act, introduced Dec. 3 by Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA), and the Consumer Data Privacy Act, which is currently being circulated by Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS) in the form of a discussion draft.

Covered Data

For starters, both proposals use the term “covered data,” and both define it ...