From the article: The Open Data Institute that I co- founded in London has taken on the challenge of international co- ordination for a new standard that gives users control over their own data. It is called Solid (for social linked data) and the technical details are controlled by W3C, the web standards consortium. Solid seeks to decentralise the web. The platform can be used to build new applications that request access to user data. This data is stored in such a way that users have complete control over it.
I would say this is a little too pessimistic. Legislation in the EU and California have both forced tech companies hands, it’s why we can download all our data and delete all our data (supposedly, doubtful in reality) on the large tech platforms. The issue I see is getting legislation that attaches itself to a standard controlled by the W3C. You are right that it won’t be something done by the US federal government though.