Massachusetts senators advanced a comprehensive privacy bill that includes a private right of action and Maryland-like data-minimization requirements. On Monday, the Senate side of the legislature’s joint Advanced Information Technology Committee advanced to the Ways and Means Committee a new draft of the Massachusetts Data Privacy Act (S-2516) that replaces bills by the committee’s Senate Chair Michael Moore (D), Senate Majority Leader Cynthia Creem (D) and Sen. William Driscoll (D). Some alternatives remain pending, including legislation by Sen. Barry Finegold (D), his spokesperson told Privacy Daily.
The Louisiana House voted 79-14 Monday in favor of a bill (HB-125) aimed at protecting an individual's genomic information from certain foreign entities, including China.
Rhode Island senators unanimously supported regulating consumer genetic testing services. The state's Senate voted 35-0 Thursday to pass a genetic information privacy bill (S-767). The House referred the bill to its Judiciary Committee on Friday. However, an Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) attorney said Friday that the consent-based bill doesn't do enough to protect consumers.
AI’s high-speed evolution makes it a tough technology to regulate, said panelists at a partly virtual University of Illinois privacy conference Thursday.
Court cases on Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) access to people’s sensitive information are developing precedents that will shape privacy protections in government data sharing, said an American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) official at a partly virtual University of Illinois privacy conference Thursday.
A Wisconsin judge urged state legislators at a hearing Wednesday to streamline a state law that sets privacy protections for the bench. The Assembly Criminal Justice Committee heard testimony on AB-171, which would amend a state law that took effect on April 1.
New York state Senate committees approved a variety of bills on biometrics at hearings this week. An age-verification measure failed to advance, however.
A data breach bill containing a private right of action split the Pennsylvania House Commerce Committee by political party at a livestreamed hearing Tuesday. The panel voted 14-12 to clear an amended HB-997, with Democrats voting yes and Republicans voting no.
The California Privacy Protection Agency (CPPA) dressed down national menswear retailer Todd Snyder with a $345,178 fine Tuesday for alleged violations of the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). Closely following CPPA action last March against Honda, the Todd Snyder case is more than an enforcement action. It also “highlights a trend by this agency of looking beyond surface compliance with the CCPA,” Wiley privacy attorney Joan Stewart told us. The agency’s board adopted the enforcement decision May 1.
Maine should follow “where the puck’s going” on comprehensive privacy laws in the states, said the legislature's joint Judiciary Committee House Chair Amy Kuhn (D) during the panel's hearing Monday. That means adopting a bill, like Kuhn’s LD-1822, based on data minimization rather than notice and consent, she said. However, two alternative Maine privacy bills would follow the approach included in state privacy laws prior to Maryland’s comprehensive law.