Cruz Blocks Two Wyden Data Privacy Bills

Sen. Ted Cruz was the sole senator to block unanimous consent for Sen. Ron Wyden’s bipartisan privacy bills, S.2850 and a narrower S.2851, which would extend protections now afforded to lawmakers to all Americans and bar data brokers from selling sensitive personal information. Wyden pushed the measures after a 2025 attack allegedly linked to a data broker’s records, saying constituents need protection from doxxing, stalking and violence. Cruz argued the bills as written could hinder law-enforcement access to commercially available data used to track convicted sex offenders and protect children, and he rejected both proposals while saying he is willing to work with Wyden to refine them. Supporters and some experts counter that the legislation preserves law-enforcement and press exemptions and note that public sex-offender registries already exist, while privacy advocates warn the largely unregulated data-broker industry enables breaches and real-world harm. Cruz’s objections prevented the measures from being fast-tracked, stalling a widely backed effort to regulate the multibillion-dollar data-broker market and leaving compromise negotiations for a later date.