Promoting Digital Privacy Technologies Act
Bill: H.R.847 | Sponsor: Rep. Stevens, Haley M. (D-MI)
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 Networking and Information Technology Research and Development Program (NITRD) must coordinate with appropriate agencies to accelerate the development, deployment, and adoption of privacy enhancing technologies. The bill also requires NITRD 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. DEFINITION OF PRIVACY ENHANCING TECHNOLOGY.

    In this Act, the term ``privacy enhancing technology''--
            (1) means any software or hardware solution, technical 
        process, or other technological means of mitigating 
        individuals' privacy risks arising from data processing by 
        enhancing predictability, manageability, disassociability, and 
        confidentiality; and
            (2) may include--
                    (A) cryptographic techniques for facilitating 
                computation or analysis on data while mitigating 
                privacy risks;
                    (B) techniques for publicly sharing data without 
                enabling inferences to be made about specific 
                individuals;
                    (C) techniques for giving individuals' control over 
                the dissemination, sharing, and use of their data;
                    (D) techniques for generating synthetic data; and
                    (E) any other technology or approach that reduces 
                the risk of re-identification, including when combined 
                with other information.

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 
        to mitigate individuals' privacy risks 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, analyzing, or aggregating data;
            (3) fundamental research on technologies that promote data 
        minimization in data collection, sharing, and analytics that 
        takes into account the trade-offs between the data minimization 
        goals and the informational goals of data collection;
            (4) research awards on privacy enhancing technologies 
        coordinated with other relevant Federal agencies and programs;
            (5) supporting education and workforce training research 
        and development activities, including re-training and 
        upskilling of the existing workforce, to grow the number of 
        privacy enhancing technology researchers and practitioners;
            (6) multidisciplinary socio-technical research that fosters 
        broader understanding of privacy preferences, requirements, and 
        human behavior to inform the design and adoption of effective 
        privacy solutions;
            (7) development of freely available privacy enhancing 
        technology software libraries, platforms, and applications; and
            (8) fundamental research on techniques that may undermine 
        the protections provided by privacy enhancing technologies, the 
        limitations of the protections provided by privacy enhancing 
        technologies, and the trade-offs between privacy and utility 
        required for their deployment.

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 and confidentiality, including 
                privacy enhancing technologies;''.

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, the Federal Trade 
Commission, and the heads of other Federal agencies, as appropriate, to 
accelerate the development, deployment, and adoption 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 on the development of privacy enhancing 
        technologies; and
            (2) facilitate and support ongoing public and private 
        sector engagement to inform the development and dissemination 
        of voluntary, consensus-based technical standards, guidelines, 
        methodologies, procedures, and processes to cost-effectively 
        increase the integration of privacy enhancing technologies in 
        data collection, sharing, and analytics performed by the public 
        and private sectors.

SEC. 6. REPORT ON PRIVACY ENHANCING TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH.

    Not later than 3 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, the Director of the National Institute of Standards 
and Technology, and the heads of other Federal agencies, as 
appropriate, 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 that could facilitate and 
        improve communication and coordination between the private 
        sector and relevant Federal agencies for the implementation and 
        adoption of privacy enhancing technologies.

SEC. 7. PROTECTING PERSONAL IDENTIFYING INFORMATION.

    Any personal identifying information collected or stored through 
the activities authorized in this Act shall be done in accordance with 
section 690 of title 45, Code of Federal Regulations (relating to the 
protection of human subjects), or any successor regulation.

            Passed the House of Representatives May 11, 2022.

            Attest:

                                             CHERYL L. JOHNSON,

                                                                 Clerk.