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Privacy Law Tidal Wave: Does the new Nevada law affect your business?

While California held the collective attention of privacy professionals nationally in preparation for the effective date of the California Consumer Protection Act (CCPA), Nevada has snuck in a privacy law of its own. On October 1, 2019, SB 220 will become effective (which beats the CCPA effective date by three months). Should you turn your attention away from the CCPA and focus on this new Nevada law? What does this mean for your business?

Thankfully, it appears that SB 220 will have a much more limited application and a narrower scope than the CCPA. CCPA compliance should remain your goal! SB 220 is only applicable to businesses which are exchanging the covered information belonging to consumers residing in Nevada for monetary consideration to a person for said person to then license or sell the covered information to additional persons. The Nevada privacy law has similar notice requirements that we have seen in the CCPA and GDPR. Businesses which fall in the very narrow category described above should be prepared to notify Nevada consumers: (1) to whom they are disclosing covered information and (2) exactly what information is being disclosed. Failure to follow this new law could cost your business $5,000 for each violation, and unlike the CCPA, there is no 30-day period to cure any violations. SB 220 also has no private right of action; enforcement comes directly through the Nevada Attorney General.

If you are not engaged in the sale of covered information in the State of Nevada, this most likely will not impact your business. Or if your business does sell covered information, but you are on your way to CCPA compliance, you too are most likely in the clear. This does beg the question, are we experiencing a Privacy Law Tidal Wave? New York is actively working on a privacy law. In June 2019, the Maine governor signed legislation into law which has been described as strict but only impacts internet providers. Privacy concerns certainly appear to have the attention of state legislatures.

If you have any questions regarding your privacy policy or need assistance with CCPA compliance measures, please feel free to comment below, email me, or connect with me on LinkedIn.