• by Wendy Davis , over 1 hour ago

Connecticut lawmakers on Monday passed a new privacy law would completely ban the sale of precise geolocation data.

The proposed law (SB 4) also includes restrictions on "surveillance pricing," as well as on the use of facial recognition technology.

The measure additionally has provisions similar to California's landmark Delete Act, which aimed to enable consumers to remove their personal information from all data brokers with a single click. The Connecticut bill specifically would require data brokers to register with the state's consumer protection agency, and would task that agency with creating a tool that allows people to remove their information from all data brokers databases.

A separate provision would prohibit streaming services from transmitting ads at a higher volume than content.

The measure has not yet been signed by Governor Ned Lamont.

The major ad industry groups oppose the proposed law, arguing it's "significantly out-of-step with privacy laws in other states."

"If enacted, SB 4 would make the state’s approach to privacy an outlier in ways that would harm consumers and businesses of all sizes," the Association of National Advertisers, American Association of Advertising, American Advertising Federation and Digital Advertising Alliance said in a March letter to lawmakers.

Among other concerns, the ad groups said a total ban on the sale of location data would "upend the balanced approach" in a privacy law passed by the state several years ago. That statute requires companies to obtain consumers' opt-in consent before processing sensitive data, including precise geolocation information.

But privacy watchdog Consumer Reports praised the bill, and called for more states to follow suit.

The "ability to take control of your data with a single click is critical; there are hundreds of data brokers -- virtually all unknown to consumers -- making the task of deleting one’s information from each broker on a one-by-one basis daunting, if not impossible," Consumer Reports senior policy analyst Matt Schwartz said in a letter sent to state lawmakers.

Schwartz added in a statement Tuesday that the ban on selling location data will ensure that such information "is protected by default and cannot be auctioned off to the highest bidder."

If Lamont signs the measure, Connecticut will join three other states -- Virginia, Maryland and Oregon -- that prohibit companies from selling data that can pinpoint people's locations within a 1,750-foot radius.

The bill's restrictions on "surveillance pricing" would prohibit businesses from setting a "customized" price based on a consumer's personal data that was collected through "any technology or technological method, system or tool" -- including tools that monitor behavior in a "physical or digital" environment. The surveillance pricing provisions have some exceptions -- including one that allows businesses to offer discounts to people who register for promotions, or belong to "broadly defined" groups, such as veterans or senior citizens.