A Virginia reproductive data privacy law taking effect July 1 covers many companies, poses significant compliance challenges and contains a private right of action, privacy attorneys warned last week. In addition, while many believe Virginia has one of the more business-friendly comprehensive privacy laws, the purple state’s narrower new law requires a higher consent standard than blue Washington state’s My Health My Data Act (MHMDA), they said.
The 23andMe bankruptcy will likely lead to more privacy regulation and enforcement due to significant public awareness of the event and its possible implications for people’s sensitive genetic information, privacy experts at the Osano Privacy Pro Survival Summit said Thursday. Meanwhile, the rise of enamored but potentially dangerous AI technology could increase challenges for privacy pros, said Noelle Russell, founder of the AI Leadership Institute.
Several Massachusetts lawmakers supported passing privacy legislation Wednesday. However, at a lengthy livestreamed hearing, members of the legislature’s Joint Committee on Advanced Information Technology said little about how they might coalesce around a plethora of comprehensive and narrower privacy bills that came up for discussion.
Assemblymember Josh Lowenthal (D) doesn’t believe tech industry opposition can stop his bill to set civil penalties for big social media platforms that breach their “responsibility of ordinary care and skill” to children under 18, he said at an Assembly Judiciary Committee hearing Tuesday. Also, Lowenthal disagreed with concerns that AB-2, moving in the Assembly after a court blocked California’s age-appropriate design code (see 2503140063), could lead to more litigation.
A Democrat and a Republican testified together at a hearing Tuesday in support of an opt-in bill meant to enhance New Hampshire’s comprehensive privacy law. The state’s Senate Judiciary Committee heard testimony on HB-195, which passed the House on a bipartisan basis March 26 despite industry arguments that supplementing the state’s comprehensive privacy law is unnecessary (see 2503270021). The committee also considered a House-passed government privacy bill (HB-522).
Two social media safety bills are advancing in the Arkansas legislature after a court recently blocked the state’s 2023 age-verification law. Meanwhile, as many states consider age-verification bills aimed at protecting kids’ privacy online (see 2503060022), a social media age-assurance bill passed Montana's House Friday.
Two board members of the California Privacy Protection Agency sharply questioned whether the agency should regulate automated decision-making tools (ADMT) at a Friday meeting. Board member Alastair Mactaggart said the board must take seriously several stakeholders' threats about possible litigation if the CPPA pursues AI regulation in an ongoing rulemaking about ADMT and several other subjects. Chairperson Jennifer Urban pushed back.
A workplace surveillance bill received unanimous support from California Assembly members at a Labor Committee hearing late Wednesday. The panel voted 5-0 to advance AB-1221 to the Privacy Committee despite concerns from business groups.
Montana Sen. Daniel Zolnikov (R) is “very confident” Gov. Greg Gianforte (R) will sign his neural data privacy bill into law, the state senator told us after SB-163 passed the legislature Thursday. Montana senators voted 49-1 for the legislation, which adds neurotechnology data to the state’s Genetic Information Privacy Act and modifies the same law to allow people to volunteer for medical studies.
The California Senate Judiciary Committee supported data broker and breach notification bills at a late Tuesday hearing. The panel cleared SB-361, which adds requirements to the California Delete Act. And it approved SB-446, a data breach bill adding specific deadlines to the state’s notification law.