Understanding the American Data Privacy and Protection Act

By Christian Tamotsu Fjeld, Cynthia J. Larose

On Friday, June 3, Representative Frank Pallone (D-NJ), Chairman of the House Energy & Commerce Committee, Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), the committee’s Ranking Member, and Senator Roger Wicker (R-MS), Ranking Member of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, released to the public a draft discussion federal privacy bill.  The “American Data Privacy and Protection Act” (ADPPA) is a comprehensive bill that touches all facets of the privacy debate that has been ongoing in Congress for well over 20 years.  Some of the provisions in the discussion draft are bracketed, indicating those provisions are still under discussion and are not subject to agreement between the authors.  In their press release, the three authors thanked Consumer Protection and Commerce Subcommittee Chair, Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), and Ranking Member Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), as well as Members of the Senate Commerce Committee for their input and leadership on the discussion draft.  However, of note, Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), the Chair of the Senate Commerce Committee, is not an author of the bill.

Last Congress, Senator Cantwell introduced the Consumer Online Privacy Rights Act, which was cosponsored by Senators Schatz, Klobuchar and Markey.  While the bipartisan, bicameral ADPPA is ambitious and comprehensive, reflecting bipartisan agreement on crucial issues hereto elusive to compromise, its prospects for moving forward remain unclear.  And without Senator Cantwell’s support, the discussion draft’s fate in the Senate is further complicated.

The House Energy & Commerce Committee is scheduled to hold a full committee legislative hearing next Tuesday, June 14, on the American Data Privacy and Protection Act.  Christian Fjeld, ML Strategies Vice President, and former Senior Counsel and subcommittee staff director of the Senate Commerce Committee prepared a detailed summary of the bill.

Click here to read more about this comprehensive bill. 

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Christian Tamotsu Fjeld

Senior Vice President

Christian Tamotsu Fjeld is a Vice President of ML Strategies in the firm’s Washington, DC office. He assists a variety of clients in their interactions with the federal government.

Cynthia J. Larose

Member / Chair, Privacy & Cybersecurity Practice

Cynthia J. Larose is Chair of the firm's Privacy & Cybersecurity Practice, a Certified Information Privacy Professional-US (CIPP-US), and a Certified Information Privacy Professional-Europe (CIPP-E). She works with clients in various industries to develop comprehensive information security programs on the front end, and provides timely counsel when it becomes necessary to respond to a data breach.