July 9, 2019
On May 9, 2019, New York State Senator Kevin Thomas introduced S5642, the New York Privacy Act (the “Act”), to amend the general business law in relation to the management and oversight of consumer personal information. Senator Thomas, citing a 2014 Pew survey, is concerned that Americans may have lost control over how their personal information is collected and used, and that government should step-in to address this issue. Because the federal government has not yet passed consumer data privacy regulations, states (such as California and Nevada) have stepped into the breach and adopted privacy laws to address these concerns. New York looks to join these states by adopting the New York Privacy Law, which, if it is passed in its current form, would be more restrictive in some respects than those of other states.
What are the additional privacy restrictions introduced by the Act?