Data Privacy ‘Panoply’ Looms as States Move to Fill Federal Hole

Consumers across the US could gain more control over how companies collect and use their personal information through state legislative efforts to create new data privacy requirements.

Broad privacy bills filed in eight states so far this year would, if enacted, add to laws in California, Virginia, Connecticut, Utah, and Colorado that aim to safeguard consumer data online.

New York’s privacy bill (S. 365)—which also includes the right to review automated decisions that affect a consumer’s access to housing, insurance, health care, or other services—is on a “very good trajectory right now,” sponsor Sen. Kevin Thomas (D) said.

The bill includes changes since its original introduction in 2019 to incorporate feedback, including limits on the private right of action that would allow consumers to sue companies, he said.

“I’m trying to balance things,” Thomas said.

Read the full article here.