Legislators are trying again to establish regulations impacting Washington organizations that manage consumer data.
On Wednesday, January 15, the Senate Environment, Energy, & Technology Committee held a public hearing on SB 6281, sponsored by Sens. Reuven Carlyle (D–Seattle), Joe Nguyen (D–Burien), and Ann Rivers (R–La Center). The bill is based on previous legislative efforts to enact privacy regulations for Washington consumers. If passed, it would have very similar impacts as the California Consumer Privacy Act, enacted in 2019, and the European Union General Protection Regulation, enacted in 2018. Entities operating within Washington affected by the bill include businesses or organizations that:
- Control or process data for at least 100,000 consumers;
- Receive 50% or more of their gross revenue from the sale of personal data; or
- Control or process information on 25,000 or more consumers.
If passed, the bill will provide several protections to consumers including the ability to:
- Request personal data collected by a company;
- Correct inaccurate personal data;
- Opt out of targeted advertising based on personal data; and
- Delete personal information under certain circumstances.
If passed, municipalities would not be subject to any of these requirements. However, the bill does include a section that would preempt any existing city laws that provide similar protections. The purpose of this preemption is to provide impacted organizations with a uniform policy to follow across the state.
Dates to remember
This bill is scheduled for executive session in the Senate Environment, Energy, & Technology Committee at 10 am on Thursday, January 23.