ANALYSIS: Sale of Location Data May Be Barred in Hawaii

A bill sitting on Gov. David Ige’s desk would make Hawaii the first state in the nation to prohibit the sale of location data collected by smartphones without the explicit consent of the phone’s user.

Asserting that the sale of location data is “an unfair and deceptive practice,” HB 702 would add a new section to Chapter 481B of Hawaii’s Revised Statutes specifically banning the sale of such data—or any offer to sell—without consent. The measure was presented to the Governor on May 3.

While many state statutes prohibit the sale of a student’s geolocation information—because such data is often ...