Last month Amazon was hit with the highest personal data fine to date. A whopping $886.6 million (746 million euros) fine was levied against the corporation by the European Union fine for processing personal data in violation of the bloc's GDPR rules. This action foreshadows a privacy climate in which enforcement will be the norm, trending away from the spotty enforcement of the past.

Ohio is joining the likes of Massachusetts, New York, and Texas by introducing a privacy bill. The Ohio Personal Privacy Act (House Bill 376) would apply to companies with sales above $25 million or ones that keep records on more than 100,000 customers, similar to the California Consumer Privacy Act; however, it differs from the CCPA in that the legislation has been tailored to protect small and midsized businesses.

It is official - Governor Jared Polis has signed the bill making the Colorado Privacy Act the latest enacted state legislation, joining California and Virginia. But what are we going to see out of the Colorado Privacy Act that's different from CCPA and CDPA? 

Updated 6/9/21 @ 11am: The Colorado Senate unanimously voted 34-0 on concurrence and final passage of SB190. It now heads to Gov. Polis, who will have 10 days to sign or explicitly veto it.CPA applies to businesses collecting data on more than 100,000 individuals, or those earning revenue from the data of more than 25,000 consumers. It includes standard data subject rights, an opt-out consent model with a universal opt-out mechanism, and a right to cure, all subject to normal AG rule-making and enforcement.

CPA is effective July 1, 2023 unless vetoed by the Gov. The biggest difference when compared to Virginia or CPRA is the broad requirement (with fewer exemptions) for data protection privacy assessments.

A more specific compliance issue Colorado presents, according to attorney David Zetoony, is the required data protection assessment. Such examinations are also required in the Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act, but Colorado does not exempt companies from these assessments like Virginia.

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The Colorado Privacy Act SB190 has passed the Colorado House of Representatives by a vote of 57-7. While the bill must return to the Senate for final reconciliation of amendments made by the House, it’s most likely. Unless the Governor vetos it, which is improbable, the amendments will be reconciled in the next few days.

In a meeting agenda released today, the California Privacy Protection Agency made it clear that they are going to move quickly and start implementing changes straightaway. In fact, it looks like they will assume rule-making authority immediately. The meeting is scheduled for Monday, June 14, 2021 at 9:00 am PST and will begin with formal introductions to the CPPA committee members:

The Colorado State Senate has unanimously passed the Colorado Privacy Act which will now move to the State Assembly for voting. The current session continues until June 12, 2021, giving time for reconciliation between the Colorado Senate and House. 

The influx of states proposing and voting on privacy bills has been a good sign for consumers that lawmakers are concerned about data privacy. But at this point, we’ve only seen California, Virginia, and Nevada actually succeed in passing such legislation. Since more states are addressing consumer data privacy, we want to dive into why some aren’t passing the first, second, or even third time.

When the California Consumer Privacy Act went into effect last year there was concern surrounding enforcement and which business would be the first to face consequences. California voters decided that an agency should be put in place to uphold compliance. This agency, dubbed the California Privacy Protection Agency, is charged with rulemaking and will join the attorney general in taking enforcement actions. The agency has been tasked with fulfilling their initial rulemaking responsibilities by July 1, 2022.

Updated April 26, 2021 at 11:13am: The Washington State Privacy Act has not passed, missing the chance for a vote before the Washington State Legislature adjourned on Sunday April 25, 2021. 

Updated April 21, 2021 at 8:45am: Truyo has learned that the bill is still being discussed as recently as last night with movement towards a compromise. 

Updated April 14, 2021 at 8:30am: A representative of Washington State Sen. Reuven Carlyle (D) said he believes “the bill remains alive through the end of the legislative session.” Though the April 11th deadline to vote on non-fiscal bills has passed, sources say that a compromise is being discussed. 

Updated April 12, 2021 at 11:30am: Sunday night's House session ended without a vote on the Washington Privacy Act. The House proposed twenty-five amendments to the bill that weren't debated prior to the end of the session, not allowing for a vote. At this time, it is unclear if the bill will still be under consideration. We will update as we learn more. 

The state of Washington has made alterations to the proposed consumer privacy act, SB 5062, in the hopes that it can be the latest privacy legislation to pass. Previous attempts to pass the Washington Privacy Act have been halted due to disagreement on the limited private right of action. In an effort to compromise, adjustments have been made to that portion of the bipartisan bill.

Alaska has become the next state to move toward protecting consumer privacy at a state level. Governor Mike Dunleavy (R) introduced Senate Bill 116 and House Bill 159 on March, 31 2021.