Three cheers for Colorado! The world awaits the Colorado Governor’s signature to enact data and privacy legislation, which would make Colorado the third state to pass a privacy law. Further, with proposed legislation, will Pennsylvania be next?
“Colorado Consumer Privacy Bill Heads to Governor for Approval,” Bloomberg Law- June 8th, 2021
Colorado’s privacy bill has been approved by the legislature and will go into effect if and hopefully when Colorado Governor Jared Polis signs the legislation. The law would enable Coloradans to opt-out of data collection from all websites. Even if enacted, many believe that still only having three state-wide privacy laws is disappointing. However, passing legislation is difficult and the bipartisan efforts in Colorado should be commended.
“What The Pennsylvania Consumer Data Privacy Act May Mean For Data Privacy Litigation In The State,” The National Law Review- June 10th, 2021
Pennsylvania recently introduced a consumer data privacy law, which would require companies to “implement and maintain reasonable security procedures and practices.” Enforcement of violations of this proposed law likely would come from a surge of private litigation. If Colorado passes its legislation making it the third state with a data privacy law, will Pennsylvania be number 4?
The number of enforcement actions for data privacy violations continues to increase as more people preach the belief that access to the internet and related privacy protections is a human right. In addition, Apple continues to be the leader in the data privacy movement, but the debate of whether Apple’s actions are good or bad for its stock has accelerated.
“Amazon Faces Possible $425 Million EU Privacy Fine,” The Wall Street Journal – June 10th, 2021
Flexing its muscles, European privacy regulators propose a $425 million fine against Amazon for its inadequate practices related to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). While the fine is a huge amount of money, it will barely be felt by the Goliath, Amazon. Even so, this fine may portend a welcome sign of more enforcement actions for privacy violations.
“Why Data Privacy Is A Human Right (And What Businesses Should Do About It),” Forbes –June 7th, 2021
Following the philosophy of a number of countries (not the United States), the United Nations has declared internet access a “human right.” Many argue that this “human right” must be supplemented with tougher measures to protect consumers’ rights to data privacy. While it is clear that data is very valuable, many believe that a company’s ardent protection of data privacy will enhance customer loyalty and be more important.
“How Data Privacy Policy Could Impact Apple Stock,” The Street- June 8th, 2021
Apple, driven by Steve Job’s prophetic views on privacy, has long been the leading company voicing the importance of data privacy. As part of Apple’s IOS update, they are focused on IDFA (Identified for Advertisers), which is effectively a smartphone users’ unique “license plate.” Apple would require all users, identified by their license plate, to permit apps to collect data. On the opposite side of the argument, Facebook continues to advocate the importance of collecting data to ensure an optimal “navigation experience.” Analyzing the impact of this debate on Apple’s share price, some believe that Apple shareholders may drive up the stock in support of Apple’s leadership on the privacy debate; alternatively, shareholders may punish the stock with the belief that Apple is using its platform to advance an agenda, which may not help its’ earnings potential.