States Press Ahead With Privacy Laws Even as Congress Stalls

States across the country will keep moving on privacy regulation next year as Congress struggles to come up with a broad federal law, lobbyists and privacy attorneys say.

California’s new privacy law takes effect Jan. 1. New York legislators are debating whether to force companies to disclose how customer data is sold, Washington state lawmakers want to limit facial recognition, and Colorado’s attorney general wants more enforcement powers.

Even though companies don’t have to worry about a comprehensive federal privacy law soon, they may have to deal with several new state laws, privacy attorneys said. States will use momentum from ...