To a US Senator: support the American Privacy Rights Act

If you’ve been affected by a data breach, identity-related fraud, or a privacy concern that would have been addressed under stronger federal law, your perspective has weight. If you live in a state with strong state-level privacy protection (CA, CO, VA, others), advocating for federal-floor-without-preemption is particularly valuable.

Dear Senator [Last Name],

I’m writing as a constituent in [city/town] to ask you to support the American Privacy Rights Act and to advocate for a version that sets a meaningful federal privacy floor without preempting state-level innovation.

The United States is the largest economy in the world without a comprehensive federal privacy law. The European Union enacted the General Data Protection Regulation in 2018; China enacted the Personal Information Protection Law in 2021. The US relies on a fragmented sectoral patchwork — HIPAA for health, FERPA for education, GLBA for finance, COPPA for children — with everything else governed by general FTC consumer-protection authority. State-level privacy laws have advanced in the federal vacuum: California, Virginia, Colorado, Connecticut, Utah, Texas, Tennessee, Oregon, and at least a dozen others now have comprehensive state privacy laws.

The American Privacy Rights Act would establish the federal framework that has been missing:

1. Data minimization — collection of personal data limited to what is necessary for permitted purposes.
2. Affirmative consent for sensitive data — health, biometric, location, demographic.
3. Individual rights — access, correction, deletion, portability.
4. Limited opt-outs — targeted advertising, sale of data, profiling for high-impact decisions.
5. FTC primary enforcement with state attorney general parallel enforcement.
6. Limited private right of action for serious violations.
7. Specific protections for users under 17 — stricter consent requirements, constraints on targeted advertising.

The recurring sticking point in federal privacy legislation is preemption — whether federal law preempts state law on the same subject matter. Industry generally favors broad preemption; civil society, state attorneys general, and state-level privacy advocates generally favor a federal floor that does not preempt state laws.

[Personalize: name a specific concern. Examples: “I’ve been affected by [data breach / fraud / privacy violation]”; “I work in [field] and have direct concern about data practices in [specific area]”; “I live in [state with strong state privacy law] and want federal action that builds on rather than overrides it”; “I’m a parent concerned about [children’s privacy issue]”.]

I’m asking you to:

1. Support APRA as it advances through committee and to the floor.
2. Advocate for federal-floor-without-preemption. A federal law that preempts state innovations like California’s Delete Act and Colorado’s AI Act would weaken the overall privacy framework rather than strengthening it.
3. Defend the private right of action against industry pressure to remove or weaken it.
4. Ensure adequate FTC enforcement capacity. Without staffing and authority that match the scope of the law, even the best statute won’t produce enforcement.

I’d appreciate knowing your position on APRA and on the specific provisions where the bill could be substantially better.

Thank you for your service.

Sincerely,

[Your name] [Your address]