Lawmakers Are Far Apart on Privacy Bill Despite Pressure to Act

Lawmakers haven’t coalesced around a single approach to broad data privacy legislation in either the Senate or House, despite pressure from tech companies, privacy advocates and others to pass a bill.

Momentum in both chambers has dissipated, even after a series of high-profile data breaches and privacy scandals involving Equifax Inc., Facebook Inc. and other companies. Business groups are urging Congress to act to blunt the stringent California Consumer Privacy Act, which takes effect Jan. 1. It’s unclear whether compromise legislation will start to move in either chamber before the end of the year.

“It’s getting late” in the process, ...