• by Wendy Davis  @wendyndavis, Yesterday

Oregon Governor Tina Kotek this week signed a bill that prohibits companies from selling precise location data, and bans some forms of targeted advertising to users under 16.

The measure (House Bill 2008), which amends the state's 2023 privacy law, specifically prohibits companies from selling data that could identify a past or present location of consumers (or their devices) within a 1,750-foot radius. The 2023 law only required companies to obtain people's opt-in consent before processing precise geolocation data.

The new law also outright bans companies from drawing on the personal data of minors under 16 for targeted advertising. By contrast, the law enacted in 2023 required companies to obtain consent from minors 13-15 before harnessing their data for personalized advertising.

Ad industry groups had opposed banning the sale of precise location data, arguing that this prohibition would deprive people of “critical services and benefits that depend on location data.”

“Without the ability to disclose location data for advertising purposes, subject to consumers’ opt-in consent, businesses will have a more difficult time, and face higher costs, reaching individuals with relevant marketing, and Oregonians will not be alerted to products and services they desire that are near to them,” the Association of National Advertisers, American Association of Advertising Agencies, Interactive Advertising Bureau, American Advertising Federation and Digital Advertising Alliance said in a letter sent to lawmakers in April.

Consumer advocates including the Electronic Privacy Information Center and Consumer Reports supported the bill.

“Banning the sale of location data and minors’ data protects Oregon residents from some of the worst privacy violations taking place today,” Electronic Privacy Information Center deputy director Caitriona Fitzgerald stated Wednesday.