Congress expands privacy law to shield license plates, biometric data, workplace addresses
H.R. 4828 — Blue Shield Privacy Act of 2025 · Filed by Roger Williams (R-TX) · 7 cosponsors · Introduced Jul 29, 2025 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill amends federal law to expand the definition of 'restricted personal information' under 18 U.S.C. § 119 by adding four new categories: license plate numbers, biometric information, workplace addresses, and school addresses. The change removes a narrow carve-out that previously allowed disclosure of 'home fax number' and replaces it with a broader list that includes that fax number plus the four new items, making it illegal to knowingly disclose these data points about individuals.
Why we flagged it
The bill's sole operative mechanism is to expand the statutory definition of protected personal information, strengthening privacy safeguards against unauthorized disclosure of sensitive identifiers and locational data.
What the text implies
- The bill does not specify enforcement mechanisms or penalties for violation; those remain governed by existing 18 U.S.C. § 119 enforcement provisions, which may limit practical deterrent effect if penalties are weak.
- Biometric information is now protected, but the bill does not define what constitutes 'biometric information' — courts and agencies will need to interpret scope (fingerprints, facial recognition, iris scans, voice patterns, etc.).
- Workplace and school addresses are now protected, but the bill does not address whether this applies to public-facing directories, staff rosters, or other contexts where such addresses may already be lawfully published.
- The amendment does not address state-level privacy laws or private-sector data brokers; federal protection applies only to knowing disclosure under 18 U.S.C. § 119, leaving gaps in coverage.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
Ordinary citizens gain explicit legal protection against disclosure of sensitive personal data (license plates, biometric information, workplace and school addresses, GPS coordinates) that could enable stalking, harassment, identity theft, or physical harm. The expansion of restricted information categories strengthens privacy rights without imposing costs on the public.
Named in the bill
18 U.S.C. § 119, U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation
Where it stands
7 cosponsors: 6 Republicans, 1 Democrats.
- Jul 29, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Jul 29, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on the Judiciary · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (408 characters) on Jul 6, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
As of — page rendered 2026-10-20.
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