It's one of the hottest topics in tech, but despite broad agreement about the importance of online privacy, the United States has yet to pass comprehensive, modern, federal legislation that addresses the issue. U.S. Rep Suzan DelBene, a Democrat from Washington state, wants to change that.

"Technology has created incredible new opportunities, but our laws have not kept up," she says. "So it is incumbent on Congress to make sure that our laws keep up, that we protect people's rights in our changing world, and privacy is a important place to start."

DelBene is seeking to address the issue with a new attempt to pass federal privacy legislation, the Information Transparency and Personal Data Control Act. It comes as more states propose and pass their own privacy laws. DelBene warns that this emerging "patchwork" of state laws threatens to deepen the country’s privacy predicament, creating confusing for consumers and businesses, and diminishing the influence of the country on the issue by presenting a divided front on the international stage. 

A former Microsoft executive and startup leader, DelBene joins us to discuss the issue on on this episode of the GeekWire Podcast.

Read one-page summary of the bill here.