Hearing Entitled: Updating America’s Financial Privacy Framework for the 21st Century

The GOP Financial Services Committee held a hearing on March 17, 2026, titled "Updating America’s Financial Privacy Framework for the 21st Century." The hearing focused on potential reforms to the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA) to modernize financial data privacy laws in light of technological advances and the evolving financial services landscape. Key topics included the need for a uniform federal privacy standard to preempt the current patchwork of state laws, balancing consumer data control with the operational needs of financial institutions, and the role of fintech and open banking platforms under GLBA. Witnesses from legal, banking, fintech, and consumer advocacy backgrounds testified on issues such as data access, deletion rights, data minimization, enforcement mechanisms, and the risks of private rights of action. The committee discussed the importance of maintaining GLBA's technology-neutral framework, the challenges of screen scraping versus API use, and concerns about federal enforcement capacity, particularly regarding the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The hearing also addressed broader concerns about data privacy, AI, and government access to sensitive financial data. Members emphasized the need for clear, consistent federal rules to promote competition, innovation, and consumer protection while avoiding duplicative or conflicting state regulations. No specific contract awards or procurement decisions were made during the hearing.