Cybersecurity Policy Report, Senate Commerce Sets Session on Data Protection Bills, (Mar 6, 2025)

By Jeff Williams

The Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee plans to hold an executive session next Wednesday to mark up two data protection bills.

The meeting is scheduled to start at 10 a.m. in Room 253 of the Russell Senate Office Building.

The committee plans to consider the Informing Consumers About Smart Devices Act, S.B. 28, 119th Cong. (2025). It was introduced by committee Chairman Ted Cruz (R., Texas). The bill would require the Federal Trade Commission to establish disclosure guidelines for Internet-connected devices that are not obviously equipped with a camera or recording capabilities, such as refrigerators, washing machines, dryers, and dishwashers (CPR, Jan. 9). Ranking committee member Maria Cantwell (D., Wash.) and committee member John Curtis (R., Utah) have co-sponsored the bill.

Also up for consideration is the Removing Our Unsecure Technologies to Ensure Reliability and Security (ROUTERS) Act (S 244), which was offered by Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R., Tenn) (CPR, Jan. 27).

The bill would order the National Telecommunications and Information Administration to “conduct a study of the national security risks posed by consumer routers, modems, and devices that combine a modem and router that are designed, developed, manufactured, or supplied by persons owned by, controlled by, or subject to the influence of a covered country,” according to its text. Covered countries would include China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Cuba, and Venezuela.

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