Senators plan for reining in contact tracing apps doesnt make a lot of sense

A group of Senate Republicans is planning to introduce a privacy bill that would regulate the data collected by coronavirus contact tracing apps. The COVID-19 Consumer Data Protection Act would “provide all Americans with more transparency, choice, and control over the collection and use of their personal health, geolocation, and proximity data,” according to a joint statement. It’s not clear how the legislation would be enforced (the statement says it would “authorize state attorneys general to enforce the Act”), a potential sticking point to persuading Democrats to get on board.

Republican Sens. Roger Wicker (MS), John Thune (SD), Jerry Moran (KS), and Marsha Blackburn (TN) said the legislation also would “hold businesses accountable...

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