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Consumer Reports urges Florida to use next legislative session to improve newly signed privacy law

Tallahassee, FL Consumer Reports calls on the Florida legislature to strengthen S.B. 262, a privacy bill that was signed into law today. 

The new law includes some basic consumer rights, such as the right to know the information companies have collected about them, the right to correct and delete certain information, and the right to limit some data disclosures. However, due to its applicability only to companies making $1 billion in annual revenue (and satisfying certain other conditions) and other significant loopholes, it would leave Florida consumers’ personal information unprotected in a wide variety of contexts. Notably, the law’s consumer rights do not apply to pseudonymous information, such as most online cookies, rendering the right to opt-out of targeted advertising largely meaningless

“Florida legislators should immediately look into how they can broaden the scope of S.B. 262,” said Matt Schwartz, policy analyst at Consumer Reports. “While we recognize that big tech companies are usually some of the worst privacy offenders, they are far from the only privacy offenders. This law should apply to any entity that collects significant amounts of consumer data. It should also make it far easier for consumers to take advantage of their rights by including a universal opt-out provision. We urge lawmakers in Florida to use the next legislative session to close the numerous loopholes present in this law and provide the consumer protections their constituents truly deserve.”

Florida becomes the latest state to enact a comprehensive privacy law, joining the ranks of California, Utah, Virginia, Colorado, Connecticut, Iowa, Indiana, Montana, and Tennessee.

Contact: cyrus.rassool@consumer.org