American Privacy Rights Act: A first glance at the US Congress's newest comprehensive privacy bill

The recently introduced the American Privacy Rights Act (APRA) represents the latest attempt to pass a comprehensive federal privacy law in the US that would vern privacy generally across the country. The draft bill proposes novel compromises on controversial topics such as federal pre-emption and rights of private action, which need refinement and are likely to be changed in the legislative process. The attempt to cover not-for-profit entities without accounting for their different purposes seems ill conceived and raises constitutional concerns. This paper examines the APRA in its constitutional, historical and policy contexts.