[{"_1":2,"_99":-5,"_100":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75,87],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":72,"_74":72},"mediaId",6141917,"mediaKeyId","5570020-e3ccf85dd710d35afb4e40d552a8e2c0","parentId",5570020,"title","Privacy witnesses warn of harms to children, surveillance pricing and data-broker risks","audioSeconds",5369,"startMs",2162000,"endMs",7531000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=5570020-e3ccf85dd710d35afb4e40d552a8e2c0&start=2162&end=7531","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5570020-e3ccf85dd710d35afb4e40d552a8e2c0/thumbnail_2162000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6141917/Privacy-witnesses-warn-of-harms-to-children-surveillance-pricing-and-data-broker-risks","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6141917-48f08d437753ba27a5cdb7a5e523ca5b/orig.mp4?Expires=1770397623&Signature=brbOh9O8JLnlHOica7JhuK9DUge-mxfYVCw2Ck6dvr09erb7x-t3x8mieGcjuqeApKe0K0AhbkhG7nq~9jG8lZ8-MmL9hs8ZHi60AOEOp178BvY2tzWdDHN7v5kY-l0SU7h-OHX1jEASaKlQP8tkrnC7ovg2err8TN6bqsPmG62PnlfotFDdyFh3PwUsARByUD-f9nCxiu6ZCnkhvTqgVbAPmXG62qJg1u1uzTOSeP52PJbiyya~rDWlDqIHh-kF3pG6dHscUxAXupP4aWnP0~dqSHhME6eoCs6ZzwT8Gs2-qiIlx-Rmdxa3zPmqtSuHZ4zeEvm97jm5Nc9da1m3GQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary","date","2025-07-30T00:00:00Z","article","Several witnesses told the Senate subcommittee that weak privacy protections are producing concrete harms, from youth mental-health risks to individualized pricing and dangerous data-broker practices.

Alan Butler, executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, cited a long-standing FTC finding that \"self regulation does not work, and we need legislation to ensure adequate protection for Americans online.\" Butler urged data minimization, heightened protections for sensitive data and strong enforcement, including private rights of action \"with enforceable court orders.\"

Sam Levine, senior fellow at the Berkeley Center and former director of the FTC Bureau of Consumer Protection, described three threats: \"threats to economic fairness, democratic freedoms, and the safety of kids and teens.\" Levine warned that companies are using data to engage in \"personalized price gouging,\" moving \"from a world of 1 product, 1 price to 1 person, 1 price.\" He also cited examples where profiling and location-based datasets were used to categorize and target people, and he described troubling AI chatbot outputs that targeted children.

Senator Adam Schiff raised data-broker concerns and California's approach, noting that starting Jan. 1, 2026, \"40,000,000 Californians will be able to go to a single web page...and request that their data be deleted from over 500 data brokers.\" Witnesses and senators discussed registries, a central clearinghouse for data brokers and stronger limits on sale and profiling of sensitive information. Levine and Butler both advocated for stronger regulation of data brokers and centralized mechanisms that scale—because \"the average consumer has no way really to know what data brokers exist,\" Butler said.

Witnesses also connected privacy gaps to national-security and government-practice concerns. Levine told the committee that reports of federal agencies demanding sensitive state-held recipient data risked violating established federal statutes and undermining privacy protections.

Senators emphasized children’s safety as a cross-cutting concern: Chairwoman Blackburn called it \"absolutely disgusting that our children are the product when they are online,\" and members discussed the Kids Online Safety Act as a complementary policy avenue.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","TIME CHANGE: Hearing titleProtecting the Virtual You: Safeguarding Americans' Online Data","oneSentenceSummary","Privacy advocates and a former FTC official told senators that unchecked data collection fuels harms to children, enables individualized price discrimination, and empowers data brokers, calling for strong data minimization, enforcement and protections for sensitive data.","taxTitle","Judiciary: Senate Committee, Standing Committees - House & Senate, Congressional Hearings Compilation, Legislative, Federal","taxId",1997,"location","","headline","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":72,"_74":72},6141922,"Industry witnesses urge clear controller/processor rules; Main Street groups seek parity with big tech",2249,2907000,5156000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5570020-e3ccf85dd710d35afb4e40d552a8e2c0&start=2907&end=5156","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5570020-e3ccf85dd710d35afb4e40d552a8e2c0/thumbnail_2907000.jpg","/articles/6141922/Industry-witnesses-urge-clear-controllerprocessor-rules-Main-Street-groups-seek-parity-with-big-tech","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6141922-dee7994b9818164856d0ba49b5a8bb4c/orig.mp4?Expires=1770397623&Signature=W2Pdd6RkUoh45VJRBW7w53djGyDFqNv8NgCiDj2a7L36s9TsLvk2tswol1unEdtnb2GnntZI61OBY11YXHxCqTqF0eB7FzxcGNsC9lhVPnsQc2XKQkGXtf35DyVpO1sTZPAoK0wcSpD3Y6EO~esQ5agxoIorqwJvrrBm9HPx4uAEFstvcLuK2POnAkwTq4W2yEvMGOaEtnKXscNMY~jmsxC8XSQoOFxStZ4UkiFEJyGkhsfuCTHfFhFL6VFpSbx66W~KUbAsumx2Ou1z1EgLdVEx86BsSE9J3Hye9glwl5irYlwvUMWdbE0XQ6Y8FsMUDBhjpoWKt7vzKZm8u5Sh4A__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","At a Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing on data privacy, witnesses representing technology vendors and Main Street businesses urged Congress to adopt a federal privacy law that clearly assigns obligations based on an entity’s role in handling data.

Kate Goodlow, managing director at the Business Software Alliance, argued that state laws get the roles right and that a federal law \"must recognize different types of companies handle consumers' data\" so obligations can be tailored. She told senators the controller/processor distinction \"dates back more than 40 years\" and underpins privacy laws worldwide.

Paul Martino, speaking for the Main Street Bridal Coalition, pressed for \"equivalent requirements, equivalent standards to protect data\" across industry sectors. He warned that labeling a consumer-facing business a controller can create a \"false impression\" that small businesses control how large platform providers operate, and urged parity in obligations and enforcement so processors cannot shift responsibility to smaller businesses.

Joel Thayer of the Digital Progress Institute recommended targeted, goal-oriented federal rules and cautioned against overly broad statutes that, he said, can entrench incumbents. Thayer and others emphasized that enforcement design matters: Thayer and Martino said regulatory enforcement or attorney-general actions can provide consistent compliance incentives, while Thayer warned a private right of action alone could be less effective.

Senators and witnesses also discussed subprocessors and downstream data flows. Martino asked for notice and a limited right for a main-street controller to object to specific subprocessors; Goodlow responded that giving a single customer veto over a bundled set of subprocessors could increase security risks and undermine economies of scale that benefit small businesses.

Those differences underscore policy choices Congress will face: how to define roles, where responsibilities should lie in multi-party data chains, and whether a federal standard should preempt stronger state protections. Witnesses broadly agreed a federal law should not weaken existing state protections but left open how to structure preemption and liability.","Business and trade witnesses told the Senate subcommittee that federal privacy law should preserve distinctions between controllers and processors and provide regulatory clarity; Main Street advocates pressed for equivalent obligations and enforcement across sectors to avoid shifting compliance burdens to small businesses.",{"_33":88,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":89,"_41":90,"_43":91,"_45":92,"_47":93,"_49":94,"_51":95,"_53":96,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":97,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":98,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":72,"_74":72},6141926,"Senators, experts press Congress for a national data privacy law at Subcommittee hearing",5736,1965000,7701000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5570020-e3ccf85dd710d35afb4e40d552a8e2c0&start=1965&end=7701","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5570020-e3ccf85dd710d35afb4e40d552a8e2c0/thumbnail_1965000.jpg","/articles/6141926/Senators-experts-press-Congress-for-a-national-data-privacy-law-at-Subcommittee-hearing","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6141926-d7a303329ce8721625aa76dc18cad1ae/orig.mp4?Expires=1770397623&Signature=Br-g-eW6fm6dpu13-dB30Iw3TL21LMspQKJ3QJL4st~xR4Xm~y3mGlQY2wJAweRwtybsCug5kQWfQcC35w~DsHHySEIN0GwPS0~~7V4T~TQQl7-slYW9s6XpJmlmcAPGxtdjvcYEfCcUDngHr2nGafm60CjsWnFGqugIVzuRF2sOcOh8Fdxq7xHgXQ0pYzKUqdVYa6S9o6dbmK68z298Y7BViKPkYiyAPbZnq52koFNtkH-6-K7Ry4exBHZ5WkhFNNjmkApSuhC~P2afLIVxgYYrOVd4P49M5E1Z1IYKCoO8vFZtnHqOUqNzE3aTYp1vd~wIOHQgUnRD4msNlEeSiw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Subcommittee on Privacy Technology and the Law met for a hearing titled \"Protecting the Virtual You, Safeguarding Americans' Online Data,\" with Chairwoman Marsha Blackburn and Ranking Member Amy Klobuchar opening the session and calling for federal action on data privacy.

Chairwoman Marsha Blackburn framed the hearing around how individuals \"preserve their privacy and their personal data in the virtual space\" and said a national standard should \"prioritize transparency, minimize data collection, and provide meaningful consent, not just a box to check.\" Ranking Member Amy Klobuchar said \"for too long, the big tech companies...have been telling American consumers, just trust us,\" adding bluntly, \"the bottom line is that we are the product.\"

Witnesses from business groups, privacy nonprofits and academia largely told the subcommittee that a federal law is needed but differed on particulars. Kate Goodlow, managing director at the Business Software Alliance, said \"The United States needs a strong, clear, comprehensive consumer privacy law\" and urged preserving the controller/processor distinction used in many state laws. Joel Thayer, president of the Digital Progress Institute, warned against overly broad federal rules that could entrench incumbents and recommended targeted, enforceable solutions. Alan Butler of the Electronic Privacy Information Center and Sam Levine of the Berkeley Center emphasized stronger protections and enforcement, with Levine describing harms from personalized pricing and from profiling that threaten economic fairness and democratic freedoms.

Committee members and witnesses highlighted several recurring themes: (1) the current 20-state patchwork creates inconsistent protections for consumers and compliance burdens for businesses; (2) many state laws share common elements — consumer rights to access, delete and correct data and distinctions between controllers and processors; (3) debate remains over preemption (whether a federal law should preempt stronger state laws) and the scope of private rights of action; and (4) accelerating technologies including AI and data brokers present new risks that a federal law should address.

Senators also raised practical harms and recent incidents: Klobuchar cited large data breaches (Equifax, Change Healthcare) and a targeted cyberattack on Saint Paul, Minnesota, while Senator Adam Schiff noted California’s upcoming centralized delete capability for consumers and asked about federal actions that could undermine state protections. The hearing record will remain open for one week for members to submit additional questions and materials.

The subcommittee did not take formal votes. The hearing provided a record of witness views and senator questions that will inform bill drafting and follow-up review by committee staff.","Senators Marsha Blackburn and Amy Klobuchar convened a Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing where witnesses from industry, consumer groups and academia urged Congress to pass a comprehensive federal privacy framework to replace a patchwork of state laws and to address AI, youth safety and data-driven pricing.","actionData","errors"]

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Privacy witnesses warn of harms to children, surveillance pricing and data-broker risks

Industry witnesses urge clear controller/processor rules; Main Street groups seek parity with big tech

Senators, experts press Congress for a national data privacy law at Subcommittee hearing