EDITOR’S NOTE: This is Part Two of a two-part series. You can read Part One here.

With the number of data breaches increasing each year, it’s becoming more important to know what personal data you have and where you have it. On personal or even work devices, you may be surprised at how much of your data is just waiting to be taken advantage of by a bad actor.

Tomorrow is International Data Privacy Day, so a happy day to all!  

The past couple of years have seen a number of states enact comprehensive privacy laws. Thus far, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Utah, and Virginia have enacted state privacy laws. In July, we will see three new privacy laws take effect in Texas, Oregon, and Florida. A privacy law in Montana will become effective on October 1.

On April 6, the Maryland legislature passed the Maryland Online Data Privacy Act of 2024, sending the bill to the state’s governor for signing.  The bill comes on the heels of the Kentucky Consumer Data Protection Act, which was signed into law on April 4.  If the Act is signed into law, it will bring the number of states with comprehensive privacy laws to 16.

Last week, the California Attorney General announced its second-ever settlement under the California Consumer Privacy Act, as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act. The settlement was with the online food ordering and delivery platform DoorDash.

In an opinion filed on Friday, California’s Third District Court of Appeal reversed a lower court ruling that postponed until the end of March the enforcement of regulations promulgated pursuant to the California Privacy Rights Act.

On January 16, Gov. Phil Murphy (D) of New Jersey signed Senate Bill No. 332 into law. The New Jersey privacy law generally follows the same framework found in many of the comprehensive privacy laws enacted by other states and contains many of the same standard features. However, there are a few notable differences, highlighted below, that will require covered businesses to adjust their privacy programs.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) has signed AB 947 and AB 1194 into law.

On Thursday, May 11, Gov. Bill Lee (R) signed into law the Tennessee Information Protection Act. The new TIPA follows the recent enactment of data privacy laws in Iowa and Indiana. The other states with data privacy laws are California, Colorado, Connecticut, Utah, and Virginia.