Democrats and consumer privacy advocates raised concerns Wednesday that a Georgia comprehensive privacy bill won’t adequately protect consumers, in part because it lacks a private right of action. At a livestreamed hearing Wednesday, the House Technology Committee considered SB-111, which the Senate passed on a bipartisan basis last week (see 2503040026). The bill is based on Virginia’s data protection statute and includes several exemptions (see 2502060057).
Most California Assembly Privacy Committee members supported legislation meant to stop so-called “surveillance pricing” during a livestreamed hearing Tuesday. However, some lawmakers said they believe market forces could deal with stores that try to set higher prices for individual consumers based on their personal information.
Legislators from other states have told Vermont Rep. Monique Priestley (D) that they'd like to see someone enact a comprehensive privacy law with a private right of action (PRA), Priestley said in a livestreamed interview Tuesday with Daniel Solove, a George Washington University Law School professor.
A Pennsylvania House Committee teed up a potentially imminent floor vote on a comprehensive privacy bill. The Commerce Committee voted unanimously by voice Tuesday to advance HB-78 to the floor. At a livestreamed meeting, the committee also adopted by voice an amendment to delay by six months the proposed effective date to one year after it’s enacted.
Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey (D) raised privacy concerns Monday concerning a social media bill requiring age verification. Maine’s joint Judiciary Committee received testimony on LD-844, which would require age verification and ban accounts for kids younger than 14, while allowing them for 14- and 15-year-olds with parental consent (see 2503060022).
The Massachusetts Senate will try to reach consensus on comprehensive privacy legislation this spring, two state senators told us. Privacy Daily has counted eight comprehensive privacy bills so far in the Massachusetts legislature, with four apiece in the House and the Senate.
The Vermont House Commerce Committee split 7-4 Friday to advance a bill (H-342) that echoes New Jersey’s Daniel’s Law. Supporting the bill in a livestreamed hearing prior to the vote, Vermont Attorney General Charity Clark (D) said the lesson from New Jersey is that it’s “a pretty good bill that's defensible in court.”
Ever-increasing data protection requirements around the world are keeping privacy professionals on the edge of their seats, said officials from Stripe, HP and Bank of America during a BigID compliance webinar Thursday.
As the Vermont Senate Institutions Committee cleared a comprehensive privacy bill (S-71) in a 5-0 vote Friday, Chair Wendy Harrison (D) reminded colleagues that the legislature is in the “middle of the process.” A day earlier, the panel replaced the legislation's language with that of an industry-favored bill (S-93), which consumer privacy advocates have called weak (see 2503130053).
Google slammed Meta this week for supporting state bills requiring app stores to verify users’ ages. However, an advocacy group for children online rejected the idea of a single best way to verify ages.