NEW STATE CONSUMER PRIVACY LEGISLATION FOR 2023
March 24, 2023
As noted in a previous update, five states including California, Colorado, Connecticut, Utah and Virginia previously enacted comprehensive consumer privacy laws that become effective this year. In addition to the new broad consumer privacy laws enacted in these states, eight additional state legislatures have already introduced comprehensive consumer privacy bills in 2023, including New York, Oregon, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Mississippi. New Jersey also introduced privacy legislation in 2022 which now carries over into the second year of that state’s legislative session. While several of these bills are reintroductions of legislation that failed to become law previously, the continued push to implement state privacy laws shows a continued interest among state legislators to enact laws that give consumers rights and options regarding the collection, use, sharing and protection of personal information. Nevertheless, there is no clear indication that a comprehensive federal privacy bill will become law in the near future.
Importantly, as more states enact consumer privacy laws, it could also present a problem for companies that do business in the U.S. in terms of compliance with conflicting obligations and requirements under the different state laws. This increasingly complicated patchwork of laws may also expose non-compliant businesses to more liability and litigation, depending on how any new legislation ultimately is enforced. For example, some of the new privacy bills that have been proposed, including the current Oregon bill, give consumers a private right of action on both an individual and class basis, as currently drafted. On a similar note, Maryland, New York and Mississippi also have introduced legislation this year in relation to the collection and use of biometric identifiers such as fingerprints or facial scans. If these new biometric privacy bills become law and they include a private right of action for consumers, they could also lead to significant litigation, and large settlements and verdicts for violations that are similar to those that have occurred under the Biometric Information Privacy Act in Illinois.
We will continue to provide updates on the new consumer privacy laws and initiatives as we receive them.
If you have any questions, please contact Evelyn Sahr (esahr@eckertseamans.com 202-659-6622) or Drew Derco (dderco@eckertseamans.com 202-659-6665).
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