Calif. Location Privacy Bill Could Force Overhaul of Business' Tracking Policies, Says Lawyer
Businesses that track individuals’ geolocation for fleet management, logistics or other reasons should “closely monitor” a California location privacy bill (AB-1355), privacy attorney Joseph Lazzarotti of Jackson Lewis blogged this week.
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AB-1355 is sponsored by Assemblymember Chris Ward (D). Assemblymember Cecilia Aguiar-Curry (D) and Sen. Scott Wiener (D) co-authored the measure. The legislation may be heard by a committee as soon as March 24, said a Feb. 22 update to the California legislature’s website.
The proposed law “would prohibit a covered entity … from collecting or using the location information of an individual unless doing so is necessary to provide goods or services requested by that individual and the individual has expressly opted into the collection or use of their location information for that purpose,” said a bill summary.
Lazzarotti warned, “If passed, this bill would impose significant restrictions on the collection and use of geolocation data, requiring many businesses to overhaul their location tracking policies and procedures.” AB-1355 would cover most businesses, though it exempts location data protected by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. However, the person being tracked needn’t be a California resident for the law to apply as long as the person is currently located in the state, the lawyers noted.
In a “major shift” to how businesses approach location tracking, covered companies would need opt-ins before collecting location data, reevaluate data retention policies, review agreements with third-party vendors and update privacy policies and internal procedures.