Privacy advocates are calling for a new federal agency to oversee consumer data privacy. The organizations' plan would sideline the Federal Trade Commission and strengthen digital privacy protections for U.S. citizens.
In contrast, a D.C. think tank backed by technology companies is advocating for all federal privacy plans to be rolled back in favor of a new national law. The plan from the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation would still allow companies to collect many kinds of data.
The opposing plans are early signs of a battle to come this year over what federal privacy legislation should look like. Many senators and privacy experts are calling for a broad federal law after Facebook's Cambridge Analytica scandal last year and continuing data missteps at big tech companies.
