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![handle is hein.crs/govepep0001 and id is 1 raw text is: The American Privacy Rights Act
May 7, 2024
On April 7, 2024, Senate Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell and House Energy and Commerce
Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers jointly released a draft of the American Privacy Rights Act
(APRA). The APRA would create a comprehensive federal consumer privacy framework. It builds on
prior congressional efforts to enact a comprehensive privacy bill, most notably incorporating elements of
the American Data Privacy and Protection Act (ADPPA) (H.R. 8152), which was advanced out of the
House Energy and Commerce Committee during the 117th Congress.
This Sidebar provides a summary ofthe APRA, as released on April 7, 2024, and briefly compares it with
the ADPPA and other comprehensive privacy bills that have been introduced in Congress. The Sidebar
explains that the APRA borrows a substantial amount from the ADPPA but includes material differences,
such as its treatment of small businesses, approach toward minors, algorithmic opt-out rights, effective
availability of a private right of action, and interaction with state laws. The Sidebar concludes by
discussing stakeholders' reaction to the APRA and potential litigation that may arise should the bill be
enacted.
Summary of the Bill
Key Definitions
The APRA's chief focus is governing how covered entities use covered data. Thus, these two definitions
are central to the bill's scope. The APRA defines covered entities to include most individuals,
commercial entities, and nonprofits that alone, orjointly with others, determine[] the purposes and
means of collecting, processing, and retaining, or transferring covered data. Small businesses, among
others, are exempt from this definition. The APRA defines covered data to include any information that
identifies or is linked or reasonably linkable to an individual.
Another key definition is sensitive covered data, for which the APRA provides additional protections.
Sensitive covered data includes, among other things, government-issued identifiers, genetic
information, health information, financial information, precise geolocation information, and information
about an individual under the age of 17. The APRA would give the Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
authority to expand the categories of sensitive covered data through regulation.
Congressional Research Service
https://crsreports.congress.gov
LSB11161
CRS Legal Sidebar
Prepared for Members and
Committees of Congress](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.crs/govepep0001&div=1&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)