Consumer-Backed State Privacy Bills Overcome Industry Opposition

Consumer privacy advocates plan to harness recent legislative wins in Maryland and Vermont to help other states strengthen protections for the personal information collected by companies.

Nineteen states have enacted laws giving residents more control over how businesses use their data, with the Vermont measure awaiting action by the governor. Maryland and Vermont are standouts among the seven states that have passed bills this year because of provisions that “significantly changed the conversation about privacy in the states,” said R.J. Cross, director of the Don’t Sell My Data Campaign at the Public Interest Research Group.

“This year was different,” Cross ...