Sponsors (2)
The bill strengthens protections and enforcement to reduce adversarial access to servicemembers’ and other sensitive personal data, while expanding regulator power and contractual limits — trading improved security and consumer remedies for higher compliance costs, possible legal uncertainty, and risks of overbroad limits on legitimate data uses.
Active-duty and former military servicemembers are less likely to have nonpublic personal data transferred to foreign adversary–controlled actors or intermediaries, reducing risk of targeting, harassment, or doxxing.
Consumers (including nonprofit consumers) gain stronger enforcement remedies because the FTC can identify and pursue data brokers for unfair or deceptive practices, enabling injunctions, damages, and restitution.
State attorneys general can bring parens patriae suits locally to obtain injunctions and restitution, increasing enforcement resources and remedies available to harmed consumers in their states.
Many businesses that collect, buy, or sell personal data (including data brokers and their subsidiaries) face higher compliance, legal, and operational costs that could be passed on to consumers as higher prices or reduced services.
Ambiguity about key terms (e.g., what counts as a 'covered nation' or a 'military servicemember list') and gaps in implementing guidance could create legal uncertainty and increased litigation risk for companies and users.
Overbroad restrictions could unintentionally block legitimate and beneficial uses of data (such as research, benefits administration, recruiting, or public-service functions), harming servicemembers and state agencies that rely on those uses.
Based on analysis of 5 sections of legislative text.
Bars data brokers from selling or otherwise providing lists that identify current or former U.S. servicemembers to covered foreign nations or entities they control, and empowers the FTC and state AGs to enforce the ban.
Official title: Prohibit data brokers from selling, reselling, trading, licensing, or otherwise providing for consideration lists of military servicemembers to any covered nation or person controlled by a covered nation.
Introduced April 29, 2025 by Bill Cassidy · Last progress April 29, 2025
Prohibits data brokers from selling, licensing, trading, or otherwise providing lists that identify current or former U.S. military servicemembers to foreign adversary nations or entities controlled by them, and requires data-broker contracts to bar downstream transfers to those nations. It makes violations enforceable by the Federal Trade Commission under its unfair-or-deceptive authorities, allows state attorneys general to bring parens patriae suits, directs the FTC to adopt regulations within one year, and orders a Comptroller General report to Congress on enforcement and possible expansions within one year of enactment.