The Weekly Breach Breakdown Podcast by ITRC - The Rocky Road to Privacy - S5E4

Show Transcript

Welcome to the Identity Theft Resource Center’s (ITRC) Weekly Breach Breakdown for February 2, 2024. Thanks to Sentilink for their support of the podcast and the ITRC. Each week, we look at the most recent events and trends related to data security and privacy. This week, we catch up on the state of State privacy laws. We look specifically at the proposed New Hampshire and New Jersey privacy laws. It’s a rocky road, and not the ice cream kind, to providing privacy protections to all U.S. residents.

The State of State Privacy Laws in 2023

We ended 2023 with 12 states having passed some version of a comprehensive privacy law that gives residents of those states greater access and control over their personal information. Most of these laws also place additional requirements on businesses and other organizations that collect personal information to ensure the information is kept secure.

New Hampshire and New Jersey Privacy Laws

Two more states have joined the club: New Jersey and New Hampshire. The New Jersey Governor signed the law into effect in mid-January. The New Hampshire Governor has yet to approve the law but is expected to do so. Both will become enforceable in January next year.

While there are subtle differences between the New Hampshire and New Jersey privacy laws, they follow a very similar pattern: consumers must receive notice about what personal information is collected, the purpose for which the information will be used, who will have access to the information and how a consumer can exercise their rights under the acts.

Rights Under the New Hampshire and New Jersey Privacy Laws Include:

• The right to access the data collected & request a copy
• The right to correct information
• The right to delete information collected for certain purposes
• The right to opt out of targeted advertising and the sale of personal information for certain purposes

Other Requirements Under the Laws

The New Hampshire and New Jersey privacy laws also require organizations to comply with the Act’s provision to conduct data protection assessments that must be provided to state regulators upon request. Those assessments are exempt from public disclosure.

Violations of the new laws will carry financial penalties. Both states allow regulators to assess fines of up to $10,000 per violation for the first violation. New Jersey officials can seek up to $20,000 per violation for repeat offenses.

These two states bring the total number of state privacy laws to 15 once New Hampshire’s Governor signs the law. That means the focus now turns to other states that will consider similar proposals this year.

The State of State Privacy Laws in 2024

Privacy and security legislation has been filed for consideration in 16 states in 2024. Key states to watch include New York, which already has a very strong set of regulations governing data protection at financial services institutions but does not have a general privacy law. Keep an eye on other states like Hawaii, Illinois, Washington, Maine and Massachusetts, where legislators have a history of passing strong consumer protections.

Also, watch other bell-weather states that aren’t known for strong consumer laws. Oklahoma, North Carolina, Ohio, Missouri and Kentucky all have comprehensive privacy laws up for consideration in their legislative sessions this year.

And like all sports fans know, if the bills don’t pass this year, there’s always next legislative season.

Contact the ITRC

If you want to know more about how to protect your business or personal information, the New Hampshire and New Jersey privacy laws, or think you have been the victim of an identity crime, you can speak with an expert ITRC advisor on the phone, chat live on the web or exchange emails during our normal business hours (Monday-Friday, 6 a.m.-5 p.m. PST). Just visit www.idtheftcenter.org to get started.

Thanks again to Sentilink for their support of the ITRC and this podcast. Be sure to check out our sister podcast, the Fraudian Slip, where we review the record-shattering number of data breaches in 2023 and the trends behind the rise in compromises. We will return next week with another episode of the Weekly Breach Breakdown.