To provide for individual rights relating to privacy of personal information, to establish privacy and security requirements for covered entities relating to personal information, and to establish an agency to be known as the Digital Privacy Agency to enforce such rights and requirements, and for other purposes.

Federal Digital Privacy Bill: Plain-English Summary

This bill would establish a set of legal rights for Americans regarding their personal information — things like your name, address, browsing history, health data, and financial records. Under the bill, individuals would have the right to know what personal information companies are collecting about them, request that it be deleted, correct inaccurate data, and opt out of having their information sold or shared with others. These protections would apply to a wide range of businesses and organizations, referred to as "covered entities," that collect or use personal data.

To back up these rights, the bill would create a brand-new federal agency called the Digital Privacy Agency. This agency would be responsible for writing the detailed rules that businesses must follow, investigating complaints from the public, and taking enforcement action against organizations that violate people's privacy. Businesses would also be required to meet certain security standards to protect the personal information they hold from breaches or misuse.

This bill would primarily affect two groups: ordinary Americans, who would gain new tools to control how their personal data is used, and businesses and organizations that collect personal data, who would face new legal obligations and potential penalties for non-compliance. Smaller businesses may feel the impact of new compliance requirements, while large tech companies and data brokers could face significant changes to how they operate.

The bill has been referred to several House committees but has not yet been debated or voted on, meaning it is still in the early stages of the legislative process.