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Tracing Papers: A Comparison of COVID-19

Data Privacy Bills



June  26,  2020

As COVID-19  continues to spread, many public health authorities are turning to contact tracing-
measures to identify, notify, and monitor infected individuals' contacts-to track potential COVID- 19
exposure. Along with conventional techniques, technology companies, including Google and Apple, are
developing digital contact-tracing and exposure notification tools. In addition, Congress has appropriated
emergency funds to help facilitate contact-tracing efforts. But the idea of using personal information-
including cell phone and location data-to track COVID-19 exposure has prompted groups such as the
ACLU   to raise privacy concerns and call for the protection of individuals' privacy and anonymity.
In response, Members of Congress have introduced four data privacy bills addressing digital contact-
tracing and exposure notification:
    *  the COVID-19  Consumer Data Protection Act of 2020 (CCDPA), S. 3663, introduced by
       Senators Roger Wicker, John Thune, Jerry Moran, Marsha Blackburn, and Deb Fischer
       on May  7, 2020;
    *  the Public Health Emergency Privacy Act (PHEPA), companion bills S. 3749 and H.R.
       6866, introduced, respectively, by Senators Richard Blumenthal and Mark Warner and
       Representatives Anna Eshoo, Janice Schakowsky, Suzan DelBene, Yvette Clarke, G.K.
       Butterfield, and Tony Cardenas on May 14, 2020; and
    *  the Exposure Notification Privacy Act (ENPA), S. 3861, introduced by Senators Maria
       Cantwell and Bill Cassidy on June 1, 2020.
This Sidebar describes the main components of each bill and examines key differences among the
proposals before identifying several issues for Congress. For a general background on contact-tracing
technology, see CRS In Focus IF 11559, Digital Contact Tracing Technology: Overview and
Considerations for Implementation, by Patricia Moloney Figliola. For a discussion of Congress's
authority to regulate the privacy of state-collected contact-tracing data, see CRS Legal Sidebar
LSB 10502, Constitutional Authority to Regulate the Privacy of State-Collected Contact-Tracing Data, by
Edward  C. Liu. For an overview of existing federal privacy laws, see CRS Report R4563 1, Data
Protection Law: An Overview, by Stephen P. Mulligan and Chris D. Linebaugh. For a comparison of
general data privacy legislation in the 116' Congress, see CRS Legal Sidebar LSB10441, Watching the
Watchers: A Comparison ofPrivacy Bills in the 116th Congress, by Jonathan M. Gaffhey.
                                                                Congressional Research Service
                                                                  https://crsreports.congress.gov
                                                                                     LSB10501

CRS Legal Sidebar
Prepared for Members and
C om m itees   of  C onqgress  ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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