The prevailing wisdom after last year’s enactment of the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) was that it would result in other states enacting consumer privacy legislation. The perceived inevitability of a “50-state solution to privacy” motivated businesses previously opposed to federal privacy legislation to push for its enactment. With state legislatures now convening, we have identified what could be the first such proposed legislation in New York Senate Bill 224.

The proposed legislation is not nearly as extensive as the CCPA and is perhaps more analogous to California’s Shine the Light Law. The proposed legislation would require a “business that retains a customer’s personal information [to] make available to the customer free of charge access to, or copies of, all of the customer’s personal information retained by the business.” It also would require businesses that disclose customer personal information to third parties to disclose certain information to customers about the third parties and the personal information that is shared. Businesses would have to provide this information within 30 days of a customer request and for a twelve-month lookback period. The rights also would have to be disclosed in online privacy notices. Notably, the bill would create a private right of action for violations of its provisions.

We will continue to monitor this legislation and any other proposed legislation.