All signs suggest that Congress may finally enact comprehensive data privacy legislation. And while several bills were introduced in 2018 and are likely to be reintroduced in 2019, the Data Care Act, which was released Dec. 12, has already been endorsed by 16 Democratic senators. With that broad base of support, the Data Care Act will likely serve as a starting point for negotiations, which means it is an important development on the ever-evolving data privacy landscape.

Signs Congress Will Act

Given past failed efforts, it's tempting to dismiss any hope—or concern—that Congress will enact comprehensive data privacy legislation. But that's a mistake.

At both the state and federal level, we see signs that Democrats and Republicans have an appetite for data privacy reform and enforcement. As of March 2018, all 50 states had enacted data breach notice laws. Even more telling, state attorneys general from both parties are vigorously enforcing their state-law data privacy statutes and are often working together—as they did after Facebook's Cambridge Analytica scandal came to light in early 2018.

At the federal level, there is near-unanimous agreement about the need for comprehensive legislation. Sen. John Thune (R-SD) has said the effort to enact data privacy legislation “enjoys strong bipartisan support,” and “the question is no longer whether we need a federal law to protect consumers' privacy” but “what shape it should take.”