Texas Bill Would Require Disclosures About Smart Devices' Data Collection
A Texas bill covering smart devices aims to show “people in real-time on their personal devices what data is being collected and by whom and also gives them the ability to stop the data collection,” state Sen. Bryan Hughes (R) said in an emailed statement Wednesday.
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Hughes prefiled SB-726 on Tuesday ahead of the state's legislative session, which opens Jan. 14. The bill would include home appliances, wearables and other consumer electronic devices that connect to the internet and collect and store biometric and other data.
Smart device manufacturers or other operators would be required to provide users with a mobile app that describes what personal data the device collects, the purpose for collecting and storing it, and how the data is captured. Also, the app must say what data is stored by the operator and whether the data is stored locally on the devices or transmitted elsewhere. In addition, the app must disclose security and privacy policies governing the data’s storage, and it must share “the identity of all persons with the ability to access the personal data” and “third parties with which a user’s personal data is shared,” and whether the operator anonymizes it before sharing. The information must be updated monthly, the bill says.
In addition, the app must allow users to halt the acquisition of personal data through the smart device and “stop the use of any audio, biometric, or video recording features” on the device. If enacted, the law would take effect Sept. 1.
Texas’s 2023 comprehensive privacy law “plays an important role in protecting the privacy rights of Texans,” said Hughes. “But many people do not know about this legislation or how much others are using their personal data.”