Virginia On The Cutting Edge Of US Data Protection Policies

Legislators in Virginia are supporting laws that would regulate digital consumer privacy protection in the state, the Associated Press (AP) reported on Friday (Feb. 19).

The proposed law advancing in both chambers of the state legislature would give Virginia consumers elevated protection against having their online data absconded. The proposal falls short, however, of allowing people to file lawsuits against businesses that violate the law. 

The Consumer Data Protection Act was sponsored by Sen. David Marsden (D-Fairfax) and was passed by the Virginia House 89-9 on Thursday (Feb. 18). The House version, sponsored by Del. Cliff Hayes (D-Chesapeake), is awaiting a final vote.

“The consumers should have the right to know what is being collected about them,” Hayes said when introducing the bill, per the the news outlet. The data protection act enables people to get a copy of their online data.

“The bottom line is, we want the controllers to know what their role is when it comes to the protection of individual’s data,” Hayes said, per AP. “We believe that no matter who you are as an organization, you need to be responsible when it comes to handling consumers’ data.”

“The attorney general’s office will have the depth and breadth, experience, the investigative tools necessary to know and to follow trends of companies and to make sure that they bring the muscle of that office to the table,” Hayes said.

Businesses that are located in Virginia or serve Virginians and control or process personal data of 100,000 consumers or more must abide by the new legislation, the news report indicated.

Testifying in favor of the proposed law was Microsoft Senior Director of Public Policy Ryan Harkins. “We’ve seen dramatic changes in technology over the past couple of decades and U.S. law has failed to keep pace,” he said. 

“It’s fallen behind much of the rest of the world and failed to address growing challenges of privacy,” he added. “In some respects, it would go further and provide the most comprehensive and robust privacy laws in the United States.”

Merchants now have to watch data protection policies wherever they do business. Almost a year into the pandemic, more people and businesses are gravitating to the digital marketplace.