The European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation, enacted in 2018, offers far-from-perfect data privacy protection, nevertheless it stands in stark distinction to the legislative dearth within the United States, the place there are not any complete federal knowledge privateness legal guidelines on the books. In his second State of the Union deal with, although, US President Joe Biden devoted extra consideration than ever to the necessity for such a measure. 

With political management of the US Congress now cut up, Biden asserted {that a} knowledge privateness regulation might garner bipartisan assist. It’s an concept that has been gaining traction lately, and the point out of knowledge privateness points in Tuesday’s State of the Union units a precedent that the subject ought to be of actual concern to US presidents and the general public.

“We must finally hold social media companies accountable for experimenting they’re doing [on] children for profit,” Biden stated throughout his speech, garnering a standing ovation from members of each events. “It’s time to pass bipartisan legislation to stop Big Tech from collecting personal data on our kids and teenagers online. Ban targeted advertising to children and impose stricter limits on the personal data that companies collect on all of us.”

Previous US presidents hardly ever talked about knowledge privateness within the State of the Union. Former president Donald Trump by no means talked about the subject in any of his annual addresses. Former president Barack Obama talked about the subject solely as soon as through the 2014 State of the Union, following revelations concerning the beforehand undisclosed scale and scope of the National Security Agency’s bulk surveillance packages. He stated then: “Working with this Congress, I will reform our surveillance programs—because the vital work of our intelligence community depends on public confidence, here and abroad, that the privacy of ordinary people is not being violated.”

In his first State of the Union, in 2022, Biden talked about knowledge privateness because it pertains to defending kids. “It’s time to strengthen privacy protections, ban targeted advertising to children, demand tech companies stop collecting personal data on our children,” he stated on the time. 

Biden’s remarks this yr went additional, signaling a shift in mainstream understanding concerning the urgency of enhancing knowledge privateness safety within the US. Whether the step will result in productive motion in 2023, although, is much less clear. In his remarks, Biden referred to as for cooperation amongst lawmakers—a dynamic missing in each chambers on Capitol Hill. “To my Republican friends, if we could work together in the last Congress, there is no reason we can’t work together and find consensus on important things in this Congress as well,” he stated. 

All components of the US political spectrum would doubtless agree that the earlier Congress was not precisely a shining instance of a high-functioning, collaborative legislative department. By together with a point out of knowledge privateness within the State of the Union, Biden is including further stress on his administration and lawmakers to ship on a difficulty that affects everyone.