Will Washington finally enact some data privacy laws in the coming year, or won't it? Right now, it's looking like a 50-50 bet.

The massive data breaches at Sony and Epsilon this spring, combined with the dust-up over Apple's iPhone location data storage practices, have stirred up long-simmering concerns on Capitol Hill about data privacy and the lack thereof. Some observers say these episodes may be sufficient to turn the talk into action, while others say there still isn't enough political will enact strong privacy protections.  

Some lawmakers and regulators are looking at bringing U.S. privacy laws into closer alignment with Europe's more stringent protections. Today, European businesses are banned from transmitting personal data to countries that have lesser privacy protections in place.  

The U.S. Department of Commerce is pressing for a Consumer Bill of Rights that would set a foundation of minimal privacy protection practices, along the lines of European practices, reports Sara Forden at BloombergBusinessWeek. Meanwhile, the Federal Trade Commission is calling for a "Do Not Track" system, similar to the "Do Not Call" system. Some senators are pressing the SEC to develop new regulations requiring businesses to disclose attacks on their computer systems immediately.

Other industry experts, however, predict ongoing inertia among lawmakers, despite the outrage expressed over the recent massive breaches and revelations about the storing of location data. Privacy advocates have watched the debate over privacy on Capitol Hill for years, and many fear there is insufficient political will to enact effective protections, writes Nick Bilton at The New York Times.

For more:
- see Sara Forden's article at BloombergBusinessWeek
- see Nick Bilton's post at The New York Times

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