Is this all a canard to avoid having to implement actual consumer privacy laws?

The question is more about whether it is an intentional decision to go this route or a built-in, institutional decision. When faced with the foe of consumer data harvesting and tracking, right now it seems the US government has concluded the answer is that it is better to have an American company spy on people rather than a Chinese one.

The best answer would be to enact laws to stop the act of spying on people, but that’s anathema to US political culture right now!