Trustbusting Has the Spotlight, But We Need a Federal Privacy Law More Than Ever

A few years ago, after decades of debate, Congress came closer than ever to finally passing a federal privacy law. The Facebook-Cambridge Analytica scandal had laid bare the weakness of U.S. privacy laws and shown vividly how data can be reused and exploited for purposes we don’t expect or want. California had just enacted its own privacy law, raising the specter of multiple, conflicting laws at the state level. The EU had recently struck down the Safe Harbor Agreement, citing the weakness of U.S. privacy protections and halting many cross-border data flows. Consumer concerns about privacy had never been greater. And the similarities between Democratic and Republican privacy bills suggested compromise might finally be possible.

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