New bill would create Digital Privacy Agency to enforce privacy rights

Enlarge / Chairwoman Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., conducts a House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health markup on Thursday, July 11, 2019. (credit: Tom Williams | CQ Roll Call | Getty Images)

Congress is taking yet another stab at addressing the near-complete lack of federal laws covering the absolutely massive trove of data that companies now collect on every one of us, which forms the backbone of basically the entire big tech era.

Representatives Anna Eshoo and Zoe Lofgren, both Democrats from California, introduced the Online Privacy Act today. The act would create a new federal agency, the Digital Privacy Agency, to enforce privacy rights. The act would also authorize the agency to hire up to 1,600 employees.

"Every American is vulnerable to privacy violations with few tools to defend themselves. Too often, our private information online is stolen, abused, used for profit, or grossly mishandled," Eshoo said in a statement. "Our legislation ensures that every American has control over their own data, companies are held accountable, and the government provides tough but fair oversight."

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