Third Way Statement on SECURE Data Act
WASHINGTON—Third Way’s Director of Technology Policy, Ruth Whittaker, issued the following statement on the introduction of the SECURE Data Act:
“We welcome the Republican Data Privacy Working Group’s release of the SECURE Data Act today. Personal data is one of the most valuable commodities in the modern economy, and Americans have gone far too long without basic protections for it.
"This bill makes a serious effort to expand consumer rights, put clear guardrails around the collection and sharing of consumer data, and eliminate the regulatory patchwork that undermines consumer trust.
"But it doesn’t finish the job. Americans deserve to have meaningful control over their data across the entire ecosystem, not just at the point of collection—and companies shouldn’t be able to point to voluntary codes of conduct as a substitute for real accountability. Enforcement here needs to be stronger and more immediate to ensure bad actors face real consequences.
"Still, this bill is a strong start. It’s an important signal that Congress is ready to engage in national privacy standards. Now it’s time to build on that momentum and work across the aisle to get this over the finish line. We look forward to the productive, bipartisan conversations to come. Americans do not need another Congress that talks about privacy without delivering on it, they need a bipartisan deal that actually becomes law.”