Data Justice Act and PADFAA Highlight US Privacy Law Gap
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- HEW published a 1973 report “Records, Computers, and the Rights of Citizens,” warning that networked computers could erode privacy without legal safeguards.
- Congress passed the Privacy Act in 1974, establishing early rules limiting government sharing of computerized records and granting individuals access rights.
- Immigration agents have used data‑analytics tools and facial‑recognition software to identify and harass citizens, illustrating government surveillance overreach.
- Amazon aired a Super Bowl commercial promoting a doorbell that can join a distributed surveillance dragnet for locating dogs, highlighting corporate expansion of monitoring tech.
- Protecting Americans’ Data from Foreign Adversaries Act (PADFAA) of 2024 is hailed by EPIC as the strongest recent federal privacy law, barring data brokers from giving hostile nations access to sensitive personal data.
- Data Justice Act, a model bill from NYU Law scholars, proposes a new federal Data Protection Agency and a private right of action, aiming to treat personal data as inherently owned and limit state use of deep digital footprints.
Why it matters: Consumers stand to regain control over their personal information, while tech firms and data brokers risk tighter restrictions on data collection and sharing; a federal Data Protection Agency and private right of action would shift power from data‑rich corporations and government agencies back to individuals.
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