Promoting Digital Privacy Technologies Act
Bill: S.224 | Sponsor: Sen. Cortez Masto, Catherine (D-NV)
Policy area: Science, Technology, Communications

Summary:
Promoting Digital Privacy Technologies Act
This bill directs the National Science Foundation to support merit-reviewed and competitively awarded research on privacy enhancing technologies. The award of grants for basic research on innovative approaches to the structure of computer and network hardware and software that are aimed at enhancing computer security may include privacy enhancing technologies and confidentiality. The bill also requires the Networking and Information Technology Research and Development Program to submit to Congress a report on the progress of research on privacy enhancing technologies and the development of specified voluntary resources.

To support research on privacy enhancing technologies and promote 
             responsible data use, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Promoting Digital Privacy 
Technologies Act''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Personal data.--The term ``personal data'' means 
        information that identifies, is linked to, or is reasonably 
        linkable to, an individual or a consumer device, including 
        derived data.
            (2) Privacy enhancing technology.--The term ``privacy 
        enhancing technology''--
                    (A) means any software solution, technical 
                processes, or other technological means of enhancing 
                the privacy and confidentiality of an individual's 
                personal data in data or sets of data; and
                    (B) includes anonymization and pseudonymization 
                techniques, filtering tools, anti-tracking technology, 
                differential privacy tools, synthetic data, and secure 
                multi-party computation.

SEC. 3. NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION SUPPORT OF RESEARCH ON PRIVACY 
              ENHANCING TECHNOLOGY.

    The Director of the National Science Foundation, in consultation 
with other relevant Federal agencies (as determined by the Director), 
shall support merit-reviewed and competitively awarded research on 
privacy enhancing technologies, which may include--
            (1) fundamental research on technologies for de-
        identification, pseudonymization, anonymization, or obfuscation 
        of personal data in data sets while maintaining fairness, 
        accuracy, and efficiency;
            (2) fundamental research on algorithms and other similar 
        mathematical tools used to protect individual privacy when 
        collecting, storing, sharing, or aggregating data;
            (3) fundamental research on technologies that promote data 
        minimization principles in data collection, sharing, and 
        analytics; and
            (4) research awards on privacy enhancing technologies 
        coordinated with other relevant Federal agencies and programs.

SEC. 4. INTEGRATION INTO THE COMPUTER AND NETWORK SECURITY PROGRAM.

    Subparagraph (D) of section 4(a)(1) of the Cyber Security Research 
and Development Act (15 U.S.C. 7403(a)(1)(D)) is amended to read as 
follows:
                    ``(D) privacy enhancing technologies and 
                confidentiality;''.

SEC. 5. COORDINATION WITH THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND 
              TECHNOLOGY AND OTHER STAKEHOLDERS.

    (a) In General.--The Director of the Office of Science and 
Technology Policy, acting through the Networking and Information 
Technology Research and Development Program, shall coordinate with the 
Director of the National Science Foundation, the Director of the 
National Institute of Standards and Technology, and the Federal Trade 
Commission to accelerate the development and use of privacy enhancing 
technologies.
    (b) Outreach.--The Director of the National Institute of Standards 
and Technology shall conduct outreach to--
            (1) receive input from private, public, and academic 
        stakeholders, including the National Institutes of Health and 
        the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, for the purpose 
        of facilitating public health research, on the development of 
        privacy enhancing technologies; and
            (2) develop ongoing public and private sector engagement to 
        create and disseminate voluntary, consensus-based resources to 
        increase the integration of privacy enhancing technologies in 
        data collection, sharing, and analytics by the public and 
        private sectors.

SEC. 6. REPORT ON RESEARCH AND STANDARDS DEVELOPMENT.

    Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the 
Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, acting through 
the Networking and Information Technology Research and Development 
Program, shall, in coordination with the Director of the National 
Science Foundation and the Director of the National Institute of 
Standards and Technology, submit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, 
and Transportation of the Senate, the Subcommittee on Commerce, 
Justice, Science, and Related Agencies of the Committee on 
Appropriations of the Senate, the Committee on Science, Space, and 
Technology of the House of Representatives, and the Subcommittee on 
Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies of the Committee on 
Appropriations of the House of Representatives, a report containing--
            (1) the progress of research on privacy enhancing 
        technologies;
            (2) the progress of the development of voluntary resources 
        described under section 5(b)(2); and
            (3) any policy recommendations of the Directors that could 
        facilitate and improve communication and coordination between 
        the private sector, the National Science Foundation, and 
        relevant Federal agencies through the implementation of privacy 
        enhancing technologies.
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