A comprehensive Minnesota data privacy bill cleared a second House committee Tuesday. The State and Local Government Committee voted by voice to advance a comprehensive privacy measure (HF-2309) to the Ways and Means Committee. Last week, the Commerce Committee approved the bill that is based on a model Connecticut and several other states adopted (see 2403050049). The Senate Judiciary Committee plans to weigh the similar SB-2915 on Wednesday. The House committee approved an amendment to HF-2309 that sponsor Rep. Steve Elkins (D) described as more “wordsmithing” based on suggestions by Google, Consumer Reports and others. Exempting airlines, the amendment also refines the definition of sale and aligns sections on data controllers’ responsibilities and implementation requirements, said Elkins. The bill drew opposition from the panel’s lead Republican, Rep. Jim Nash (R), who said he would prefer a federal law to a state patchwork. A U.S. law would be better, but federal legislation is stalled, responded Elkins. "It's been left to the states to take this on." States are “working very hard to align our bills as closely as possible … to avoid that 50-state patchwork that you described,” he said. Still, Rep. Danny Nadeau (R) complained that the Minnesota measure is "really complicated" and "confusing." Meanwhile, other state privacy bills advanced Monday. The Kentucky Senate voted 35-0 for HB-15. Kentucky's House previously approved the bill (see 2402210044) but now must concur with Senate changes. In addition, Maryland’s House Economic Matters Committee voted 14-4 to clear a privacy (HB-567) bill and 19-0 to approve a kids’ safety bill (HB-603). The committee heard the bills last month (see 2402140053).
Backers of Congress giving the FCC stopgap funding to keep the affordable connectivity program running through FY 2024 latched onto President Joe Biden's short mention of internet affordability in his State of the Union speech Thursday night to bolster that push. Biden also said Congress should pass comprehensive data privacy legislation and briefly touched on other tech policy issues. He didn't mention the House Commerce Committee's push to require TikTok Chinese owner ByteDance to divest the app for it to continue operating in the U.S., despite its supporters' rapid push to advance it (see 2403080035).
New Hampshire is the 15th state with a sweeping privacy law. Gov. Chris Sununu (R) signed SB-255 on Wednesday, which provides "transparency about what information is collected, why, and confidence that in the age of AI, steps are taken to protect that data," he said. A West Virginia comprehensive privacy bill passed the Senate on a 27-6 vote Thursday. The Senate asked the House to concur with its amendments to HB-5338. The House previously voted 91-0 for the bill (see 2402280046).
The House Commerce Committee on Thursday unanimously passed legislation (see 2403050051) that could lead to a U.S. ban on the popular Chinese-owned social media app TikTok. The legislation is poised for floor action after gaining public support from House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., on Thursday.
Comprehensive privacy legislation in Minnesota advanced in House and Senate committees Tuesday. In the morning, the House Judiciary Committee voted unanimously by voice to approve HF-2309 and send it to the State and Local Government Committee. In the afternoon, also on a voice vote, the Senate Commerce Committee approved SF-2915 after agreeing to harmonize its language with HF-2309. State Rep. Steve Elkins (D) said he based the House bill on a Washington state template that never became law there but that a dozen other states have since adopted. States should try to write similar laws in the absence of a federal law, which is unlikely soon, he said. One difference with other state laws is that Minnesota would include a section on automated decision-making, extending rights from the Fair Credit Reporting Act to other areas like employment and auto insurance, Elkins said. Minnesota’s bill lacks a private right of action and Elkins predicted a hefty fiscal note related to enforcement by the state attorney general. However, Elkins said the state AG office told him it can enforce the measure, if enacted. Elkins doesn’t expect any further substantive changes to the bill this session, he said.
The Utah House voted 64-0 on Wednesday for a bill that requires content filters when minors use tablets and smartphones. Eleven members were absent or didn’t vote. Because the House amended the bill, SB-104 must return to the Senate. Utah senators previously voted 25-3 in favor of the measure (see 2402070074). Meanwhile, lawmakers in other states advanced privacy and social media legislation this week. The West Virginia House voted 91-0 Wednesday for a consumer privacy bill (HB-5338) and sent it to the Senate. On Tuesday, the Georgia Senate voted 37-15 for another comprehensive privacy bill (SB-473), sending the measure to the House. On Monday, the Georgia Senate voted 51-1 for a measure requiring education for children about social media and the internet (SB-351). On Tuesday in Virginia, the House Commerce Committee voted 21-0 to advance a kids’ privacy bill (SB-361) that would add children-specific protections to the state’s comprehensive consumer privacy law. The Senate previously passed the bill 40-0 (see 2402120072). Also that day, the Missouri House Innovation Committee cleared HB-2141, which would prohibit state employees from using TikTok (see 2401030014). In Florida, the Senate Fiscal Policy Committee approved SB-1448 Tuesday, requiring platforms that foreign adversaries own to disclose how they curate, personalize and target content and how they address misinformation and harmful content. A House version of the bill advanced last week (see 2402220051).
The Kentucky House approved a comprehensive privacy bill (HB-15) on a 92-0 vote Tuesday. It will go to the Senate. Also, that day the Colorado House voted 56-3 to send the Senate a bill amending the Colorado Privacy Act to add protections for biometric identifiers and data (HB-1130). In other consumer protection votes, the Maine Senate on Wednesday agreed with the House on passing HB-1932, which would require prorating of broadband bills after a user cancels service. The bill will go to Gov. Janet Mills (D). In Oregon, the Senate voted 25-5 for a consumer electronics right-to-repair bill (SB-1596). It will go to the House.
Minnesota legislators on Wednesday advanced an age-appropriate design bill modeled after a California law that was recently deemed unconstitutional.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) signed bills this week on consumer data privacy protections (S-332) and telephone line abandonment rules (A-1100). The legislature passed the bills earlier this month (see 2401080073). “I am heartened that consumers will now be given a say in the distribution of their personal information,” Murphy wrote in a signing statement. New Jersey is the 14th state with a comprehensive privacy law.
New Jersey legislators passed a comprehensive data privacy bill and proposed telephone line abandonment rules during floor sessions Monday. The Assembly voted 47-27 to pass S-332 after substituting into the bill language from A-1971. The Senate voted 34-1 for A-1100, which would require removing phone and cable lines that don’t terminate at both ends to equipment or to a customer premise, aren't in a safe condition or haven’t been operated for at least 24 consecutive months. The state privacy bill will “protect for the first time in New Jersey history our citizens’ and our children’s data, including personally identifiable information and sensitive data, and join the dozen-plus states that have beaten us to it,” said Assembly Judiciary Committee Chairman Raj Mukherji (D), who sponsored A-1971. “With no comprehensive federal framework to address this, unlike in Europe, it’s fallen to the states to fill the gaps and protect our citizens’ data.” Mukherji highlighted the bill’s inclusion of a universal opt-out mechanism, which would support using a browser plugin or setting to opt out of many sites. The Assembly adopted amendments to the privacy bill at a Dec. 21 floor session. Changes include clarifying that a controller isn’t required to authenticate opt-out requests and that the consumer’s option to opt out applies to data selling or targeted ads, according to a floor statement. Also, the amended bill extended the deadline for controllers to comply to six months from four. In addition, lawmakers added an exemption for data subject to the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act. The Assembly Judiciary Committee passed A-1971 in December (see 2312180067), many months after the Senate approved S-332 last February (see 2302030065). Consumer Reports believes "the bill improved substantially as it has moved through the legislative process," said CR Policy Analyst Matt Schwartz. "The bill now includes baseline consumer privacy protections" and a universal opt-out mechanism that will make it "far more usable for consumers than what was previously being considered," he said. However, "we see room for improvement, particularly relating to the bill's data minimization and enforcement provisions." The Assembly passed the line abandonment bill last March (see 2303010017). The New Hampshire House last week completed a comprehensive privacy bill (SB-255). It passed the state's Senate last March (see 2303170035). The House Judiciary Committee amended and advanced the bill in November (see 2311080062).