A U.S. online privacy bill is not likely to come before Congress this year, three sources said, as lawmakers disagree over issues like whether the bill should preempt state rules, forcing companies to deal with much stricter legislation in California that goes into effect on Jan. 1.

Without a federal law, technology companies, retailers, advertising firms and others dependent on collecting consumer data to track users and increase sales must adapt to the California law, potentially harming corporate profits over the long term.

The delay is a setback for companies ranging from Amazon (AMZN.O) and Facebook Inc (FB.O) to Alphabet Inc’s (GOOGL.O) Google and retailers like Walmart Inc (WMT.N)>, who either directly collect shopper information to run their websites, or provide free services and derive revenues from advertising that relies on online data collection.

“This will be tremendously challenging… companies need to really focus on complying with California now because there is not going to be a life raft from a federal level,” Gary Kibel, a partner specializing in technology and privacy at law firm Davis & Gilbert. Read more

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A U.S. online privacy bill is not likely to come before Congress this year, three sources said, as lawmakers disagree over issues like whether the bill should preempt state rules, forcing companies to deal with much stricter legislation in California that goes into effect on Jan. 1.

A U.S. online privacy bill is not likely to come before Congress this year, three sources said, as lawmakers disagree over issues like whether the bill should preempt state rules, forcing companies to deal with much stricter legislation in California that goes into effect on Jan. 1.

A U.S. online privacy bill is not likely to come before Congress this year, three sources said, as lawmakers disagree over issues like whether the bill should preempt state rules, forcing companies to deal with much stricter legislation in California that goes into effect on Jan. 1.