Cantwell on July 9. Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images
Efforts to pass a national privacy bill aren't dead yet and are more important than ever given the acceleration of AI, Senate Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell told Axios today.
The big picture: After many canceled Commerce markups of AI and privacy bills and stalled progress on a comprehensive bipartisan privacy bill in the House, the committee seems to be trying to thread the needle by holding a hearing tomorrow on how AI impacts privacy.
What they're saying: "People need to understand how big the threat is to the American people, and how much their data is being used and accelerated through AI," Cantwell told Ashley in the Capitol about the hearing, adding she hopes to mark up AI bills soon.
- Asked if efforts to pass the American Privacy Rights Act, Cantwell's privacy bill with House Energy and Commerce Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers, have stalled, Cantwell said: "Not sure what the timing is on that... [but] I don't think it's done in the House."
- Cantwell said she is still speaking to Rodgers about it.
- Sen. John Hickenlooper, who recently introduced an AI auditing bill, told Ashley he is hopeful for AI markups soon despite the recent cancellations: "We have been derailed a little bit... but when you get pulled off in one direction, you've got to go back and get in the right direction."
