The Senate Commerce Committee will hold a hearing on Thursday focused on privacy concerns arising from the rise of artificial intelligence (AI), the committee announced on Monday.
The hearing will examine how AI has “accelerated the need for a comprehensive federal privacy law,” according to the committee’s announcement.
The hearing was scheduled amid growing pressure for Congress to implement AI rules as well as a comprehensive federal privacy law.
The U.S. lacks a comprehensive federal privacy law as states and other countries implement new rules regulating the largely U.S.-based tech giants.
The American Privacy Rights Act, a bipartisan data privacy bill led by Senate Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.), has been scheduled for a House appointment last month, but the meeting was canceled shortly before it began after resistance from House GOP leaders. Resistance from the House threatens the bill’s chances of passing this session, but it is likely to emerge during a Senate hearing on the issue.
The bill would give people more control over their data and add requirements such as allowing users to opt out of targeted advertising and data transfers. It would also create a private right of action that would allow consumers to claim financial compensation through the courts and preempt state laws.
The Senate hearing will feature testimony from Ryan Calo, professor at the University of Washington School of Law and co-director of the University of Washington Technology Policy Lab; Amba Kak, co-executive director of the AI Now Institute; and Udbhav Tiwari, director of global product policy at Mozilla.
More witnesses will be announced, according to the committee.
Congress has also been evaluating AI regulations but has not yet passed any laws as the technology advances.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (DN.Y.) released an AI roadmap for regulation in May, but the document was light on calls for specific regulation.
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
