GOP unveils bid for a nationwide data-privacy standard

House Republicans rolled out two bills—the SECURE Data Act for consumer tech data and the GUARD Financial Data Act for financial data—that would preempt dozens of state privacy laws and establish a single federal standard, restricting data collection and giving consumers access to their information; backed by Republican committee chairs but without Democratic sign-ons, the plan aims to balance privacy protections with a unified regulatory framework, though critics say it prioritizes corporations and could shield state protections, with efforts to win bipartisan support by incorporating Democratic privacy ideas before the midterms.