Lofgren Introduces Online Privacy Act to Protect Americans' Personal Data
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Rep. Zoe Lofgren (CA-18) re-introduced the Online Privacy Act, legislation that sets a national baseline for how Americans' personal data can be collected, used, and shared.
“Privacy is a fundamental right, but for too long, Congress has failed to set clear nationwide rules to protect Americans’ personal data. The Online Privacy Act gives Americans the power to view, correct, and delete their information,” Rep. Lofgren said. “This legislation shifts power back to the people and ensures federal law finally catches up to the realities of the 21st century."
Key provisions of the Online Privacy Act:
Prohibits companies from using private communications like users' emails or web traffic for ads or other invasive purposes
Requires companies to articulate the need for and minimize the user data they collect, process, disclose, and maintain
Criminalizes doxxing
Ensures companies minimize employee and contractor access to user data
Gives users the right to access, correct, delete, and transfer data about them; choose for how long their data can be kept; and request a human review of impactful automated decisions
Establishes a Digital Privacy Agency (DPA) to issue regulations for bill implementation and impose fines for violations
The full bill text for the 119th Congress can be read here. A one-page explainer of the bill can be found here.
The Online Privacy Act was previously introduced by Rep. Lofgren and former Rep. Anna Eshoo (CA-17) in the 116th, 117th, and 118th Congresses. This legislation has the support of organizations including Public Knowledge and Free Press Action.
"With federal privacy protections long overdue, Public Knowledge is pleased to see that Rep. Lofgren remains committed to this important work," said Sara Collins, Director of Government Affairs at Public Knowledge. "The OPA includes strong data minimization standards, prohibitions against discrimination, and a critical private right of action to ensure the law is enforced. We hope the Commerce Committee takes this bill seriously and returns to the vital work of protecting Americans' privacy."
"It’s unbelievable that in 2026, after years of understanding the harms that come from rampant data collection, we still don’t have a comprehensive federal data privacy standard," said Amanda Beckham, Government Relations Director at Free Press Action. "Private companies collect an enormous amount of our personal data. Websites, apps, and devices we wear or carry collect information about where we work, the places we visit, our browsing history, political opinions, medical and biometric data, and more. When aggregated, all of this data represents the power to influence, manipulate, and discriminate. Especially now, when AI tools are being deployed by private industry and government to ingest and analyze massive amounts of data to make predictions about us, data privacy legislation with robust civil rights and anti-discrimination principles is critical. The Online Privacy Act would be an important step in that direction."
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