[co-author: Taylor Daly]

Thursday, April 30th, Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Roger Wicker (R-MS), Majority Whip John Thune (R-SD), and Senators Jerry Moran (R-KS) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) announced plans to soon introduce the COVID-19 Consumer Data Protection Act of 2020. The narrowly-tailored bill is aimed at giving Americans more control over and insight into how their personal health, proximity and geolocation data is used during the current health crisis. The Act requires companies to obtain express consent in order to collect, process, or transfer this type of data for the purposes of tracking the spread of COVID-19. It also allows individuals to opt out of the collection and use of this data, and directs companies to be transparent to the public by describing their data collection practices in relation to the pandemic. Further, companies must de-identify all personally identifiable information (PII) when it is no longer being used for the health emergency. The Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general are given enforcement authority, and state and local laws and regulations are preempted under the Act.