Issue One praises new data privacy agreement in Congress

Issue One applauds Rep. Cathy McMorris-Rodgers (R-WA) and Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) for reaching a bipartisan, bicameral agreement to protect Americans’ data privacy online. The American Privacy Rights Act (APRA) represents a major step toward giving Americans greater control over their own data. The House Energy and Commerce Committee will hold a hearing next week on April 17 to consider this bill as well as the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), which would place the health and well-being of minors over social media advertising revenue.

“Sen. Cantwell and Rep. McMorris-Rodgers worked together to advance a goal that lawmakers and Americans across the political spectrum agree is long-overdue — putting people in control of their personal information by establishing a national standard for data privacy and security,” said Issue One Founder and CEO Nick Penniman. “Unchecked extractive data practices have taken away Americans’ rights as digital citizens and fueled widespread harms in the digital age, from manipulative content directed at minors to turbocharged false information that is exacerbating political and societal polarization. Ending these practices is a critical step in fixing the broken information environment and for the future health of our democracy. The APRA is a major step toward making that goal a reality.”

After decades of negotiation on the issue, the APRA marks the first time that the chairs of the two powerful commerce committees have reached an agreement on a comprehensive data privacy framework. The APRA would require companies to collect only the data they need to offer their product to consumers, give users the right to opt out of certain data collection and targeted advertising practices, and provide Americans with the right to access and delete their data. Each of these provisions would help prevent social media platforms from collecting users’ data without their consent or knowledge, and using this information to direct to them the most engaging, inflammatory, and addictive content.

“Kids’ online safety and comprehensive data privacy protections are two fundamental pillars of a healthier, safer online ecosystem,” said Alix Fraser, director of Issue One’s Council for Responsible Social Media. “Right now, Congress has a chance to do what many thought would never be possible and what tech companies have fought against for nearly two decades — dramatically tilt the balance of power on the internet towards consumers by requiring the largest online providers to prioritize the privacy and safety of their users.”

Background: 

The Kids Online Safety Act directly addresses the harmful social media business model by placing the health and well-being of minor users over advertising revenue. These reforms are supported by nearly 90% of U.S. voters. Led by Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), the bill currently has 67 cosponsors in the Senate and is awaiting a floor vote.

Earlier this year, Issue One released new research underscoring how the top social media platforms — Meta, ByteDance, X, Snap, and Discord — have ramped up their lobbying efforts as federal lawmakers take aim at their products which prioritize profits before kids’ online safety. According to our findings, these social media giants combined to spend a staggering $30 million on lobbying in 2023 — an increase of 12% from what these five companies collectively spent on lobbying in 2022.