Privacy Daily is providing readers with the top stories from last week, in case you missed them. All articles can be found by searching on the title or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
Sens. Ed Markey, D-Mass., and Bill Cassidy, R-La., on Tuesday reintroduced legislation that would update the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).
A Maryland Democrat and state retailers rallied for a bill that would remove teeth from data minimization rules in the Maryland Online Data Privacy Act (MODPA) during a livestreamed hearing Tuesday. But consumer groups lambasted HB-1365, as they did shortly after it was introduced last month (see 2502100032), arguing that it would gut the privacy law that takes effect Oct. 1.
Vermont Rep. Monique Priestley (D) criticized a comprehensive privacy bill introduced Thursday in the state Senate. Sen. Thomas Chittenden (D) introduced S-93 on the same day that the Senate Institutions Committee started walking through the Senate version (S-71) of Priestley’s previously introduced H-208, which also seeks a broad data privacy law (see 2502130013).
Having thorough and understandable guidelines for highly organized data storage is key in data minimization, which saves money in the long run, said a panel of privacy experts during a HaystackID webinar Wednesday on data minimization.
The Connecticut Senate will vote on an AI bill by Sen. James Maroney (D) this year, as it did last year, declared President Pro Tempore Martin Looney (D) at a press conference ahead of a Wednesday hearing on SB-2. While Looney said passage of the bill is urgent, Connecticut's chief innovation officer told a hearing the state risks regulating too soon and getting it wrong.
Attorney General Anthony Brown (D) would lack the resources to enforce Maryland privacy laws without a proposed tax on data brokers that would fund a dedicated privacy team in his office, he said during a state House Economic Matters Committee hearing Tuesday. During a livestreamed session, the panel heard testimony on HB-1089, which would require that data brokers register with the state and, starting in the 2027 tax year, pay a 6% tax on gross income.
More states are considering measures that protect the privacy of reproductive health data in the wake of President Donald Trump’s return to the White House, privacy experts said in recent interviews.
Perhaps New Mexico shouldn’t go beyond other states' privacy laws, legislators on the House Commerce Committee said during a livestreamed hearing Wednesday. However, an American Civil Liberties official encouraged New Mexico lawmakers to lead the way with HB-307, an opt-in privacy bill containing a private right of action, strict data minimization requirements and kids’ design code rules (see 2502060058).
Long-anticipated bills by Vermont state Rep. Monique Priestly (D) on comprehensive data privacy (H-208), an age-appropriate design code (H-210) and data broker deletion requirements (H-211) formally entered the legislature on Wednesday. The 2025 privacy bill “contains a number of adjustments that address concerns from stakeholders, including members of the business community, while maintaining the core consumer protections expected by Vermonters,” said an H-208 summary.