Sponsors
The bill increases targeted privacy and safety protections for Members of Congress, designated staff, and other at‑risk individuals by requiring rapid removal and limiting data-broker sales of sensitive information, but it does so at the cost of compliance burdens and litigation risk for businesses and platforms and may constrain some journalistic inquiries.
Members of Congress, designated staff, and their households (including children/youth) gain a clear, enforceable right to have home addresses, contact details, and precise location data removed from government and covered private sites within 72 hours, reducing doxxing and immediate safety risks.
At-risk individuals (e.g., federal employees and taxpayers) are better protected because the bill restricts data brokers from buying or selling covered sensitive information, limiting commercial spread of those data.
Legislative offices may centrally submit lists of covered individuals to agencies and data holders, simplifying protections for multiple people and reducing administrative burden on Members and office staff.
Small businesses, data brokers, and platforms will face new compliance costs to remove covered data, stop transfers, and maintain suppression across sites, raising operational and legal burdens.
Broad private causes of action plus enforcement by state or federal attorneys general create litigation risk and potential liability for publishers and platforms that misclassify content or miss 72‑hour removal deadlines.
News outlets, commentators, and investigative journalists may lose access to some personal information used in reporting, potentially complicating public‑interest investigations and coverage.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Introduced September 17, 2025 by Ronald Lee Wyden · Last progress September 17, 2025
Creates a federal privacy and takedown regime that protects home and other identifying information for Members of Congress, certain designated congressional employees, their immediate family and household members, and former Members. It defines specific categories of “covered information” (home addresses, phone numbers, precise geolocation, identifiers for children, financial and ID numbers, schedules/routes, etc.) and lets those at-risk individuals file written notices with government agencies and businesses to mark such information as private. Requires federal agencies and covered private parties (including data brokers and websites) to remove or stop publishing covered information within 72 hours of a valid written request, bans data brokers from knowingly selling or purchasing that information, and creates enforcement paths for the U.S. Attorney General, state attorneys general, and private parties (injunctive/declaratory relief). The bill includes limited exceptions (news reporting, required public filings, court orders, consent) and authorizes certain congressional officers to submit compliance lists on behalf of covered people.