The Data Privacy Conference USA 2019 provided a top-level meeting space for the data protection community in the US and further afield to explore current and future challenges in the area of data privacy, as well as to debate the different governance strategies that have emerged. Speakers also discussed how a US data privacy framework could fit in the international context, what a federal law would mean for specific areas of the economy such as the health sector, and how a framework for the collection and use of personal data could be designed so that it does not hinder competition and innovation but promotes responsible use of data and safeguards users’ trust.