Newly Published NJ Draft Privacy Regs Offer Guidance; Comments Due Aug. 1
New Jersey draft rules for implementing the state’s comprehensive privacy law appeared Monday in the New Jersey Register, as expected (see 2505280058). Comments are due Aug. 1, said the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs document (57 N.J.R. 1101(a)).
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
The Division of Consumer Affairs will review comments after the Aug. 1 deadline, the AG office said Monday. A summary of the comments and the division’s responses will be published in a notice of adoption "sometime in 2026," it said. The rules become final when that is published, it said.
Attorney General Matthew Platkin (D) said, “The proposed rules advance consumer privacy protections by requiring internet websites, online providers, and other entities to fully disclose to consumers how their private data will be used, notify consumers of their data privacy rights, and provide them with information on how to exercise those rights."
“We live in a rapidly changing digital age, and personal data is collected at an alarming rate,” said Gov. Phil Murphy (D). “These proposed rules will help ensure consumers in New Jersey can reclaim control over their personal data.”
While the rules will likely look different after the comment period, the draft provides guidance about the New Jersey law, which took effect Jan. 15. For example, the draft “breaks out pretty specifically what you need to put into your privacy notice,” Porzio Bromberg privacy lawyer Alfred Brunetti told us Monday.
Also, the draft rules on data retention may encourage some businesses to evaluate their policies “and hopefully it'll have the effect of a data-minimization structure without really a specific, express data-minimization” requirement, he said.
Additionally, the lawyer welcomed greater guidance on universal opt-out mechanisms and what should happen when browser-based preference signals conflict with a consumer's choice to sign up for a loyalty program.
While unclear exactly how long the rulemaking will take, the Division of Consumer Affairs probably “is anxious to have a fully formed, finalized law that can be enforced,” Brunetti said. “I don't think it's going to be a long, drawn-out process like is happening in California.”
“There is a growing sense of helplessness among consumers who do not want their data collected but feel powerless to stop it,” said Elizabeth Harris, acting director of the Division of Consumer Affairs, in the news release. “The rules we are proposing today empower consumers to reclaim control over their personal data, including how and when it is collected, shared, or sold."