Consumer Protection

In 2020, when the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) came into effect, the privacy landscape in the US changed forever. Fast forward three years, we now have close to a dozen states that have passed consumer privacy laws, with the second generation of consumer privacy laws giving particular attention to sensitive data. In particular, there is an emerging trend, in both new legislation and enforcement of existing privacy and consumer protection regimes, towards a focus on the collection, use, and sharing or selling of health-related personal information, specifically information that is outside the scope of the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).[1] The effect is a restriction on what publishers, advertisers, and other commercial enterprises can do with consumer health information, often broadly defined to include any past, present or future health status or inference regardless of sensitivity (e.g., acne or a headache). These developments include:
Continue Reading Health (and Health-ish) Data and Advertising Under Scrutiny

On June 6, 2023, the governor signed the Florida Digital Bill of Rights into law. We previously covered the consumer privacy bill here. The law targets larger companies because a “controller” must have $1 billion in global gross revenue, plus one of the following:

  1. 50% of global gross revenue comes from the sale of

…

On May 19th, the Montana Governor Greg Gianforte signed the Montana Consumer Data Privacy Act (“Montana CDPA”). The Montana CDPA was chaptered into Montana law on May 22nd. Montana is the fifth state to pass a comprehensive privacy law this year, following Iowa, Indiana, Tennessee and Florida, and the tenth state overall, following…

Squire Patton Boggs’ Kyle R. Dull and Julia B. Jacobson recently authored an article published by Competition Policy International in the CPI TechREG Chronical, that details “dark patterns,” which are misleading or otherwise manipulative user experiences intended to influence a consumer’s behavior and prevent them from making fully informed choices. Dark patterns are not merely…

In an effort to prevent deceptive conduct, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released Policy Statement on April 3rd, which, among other things, expands their definition of “abusive acts and practices.” As debates about how to comply with the CFPB’s new policy statement circulate, Keith Bradley and David Coats take to Law360 to…

Today, Governor Jay Inslee signed into law the My Health My Data Act (SB 1155) (the “Act” or “MHMD”), a first-of-its-kind consumer health data law. Passage of the Act was, in part, a direct response by Washington state lawmakers to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Org. overturning Roe v. Wade. Recognizing that the nation’s federal health law, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”), has blind spots in protecting health-related information collected outside of contexts involving HIPAA covered entities (e.g., healthcare institutions), the legislature in passing MHMD sought to “close the gap” in privacy protections for health data that falls outside the scope HIPAA, including information related to reproductive health and gender-affirming care.
Continue Reading Governor Inslee Signs Washington My Health My Data Act Into Law: First-of-Its-Kind Consumer Health Data Law, Explained

Key takeaway: Last week, Arkansas became the latest state to pass legislation requiring social media companies to obtain parental consent before allowing minor users to create accounts on their platforms. The new law, titled Social Media Safety Act (“SMSA”) – is effective on September 1, 2023.

Similar to Utah’s Social Media Regulation Act (“Utah SMRA”,…

As U.S. privacy pros know, the past few years have seen many state privacy bills proposed but, as of January 1st, only five states had comprehensive privacy laws in effect. So far in 2023, Iowa approved its “Act relating to consumer data protection” (which we reported on here) and late last week, the Indiana Legislature passed the Indiana Consumer Data Privacy Act which is pending the governor’s signature (discussed here).
Continue Reading Montana, Tennessee or ____________?: Which State Will Pass the Next Privacy Law?

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Following in the footsteps of Europe, U.S. states are codifying obligations to maintain personal data inventories and retention schedules, and to limit retention and use to only what is necessary to meet the purposes disclosed at the point and time of collection, for only so long as that limited purpose continues. A recent study by…