Virginia’s new law will ban the sale of precise consumer location data
Richmond, VA – Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger today signed into law legislation to amend the Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act to ban the sale of consumers’ precise geolocation data. Throughout the legislative session, Consumer Reports led a coalition of privacy and consumer groups in support of bill S.B. 338. The bill received unanimous, bipartisan approval at every step of the legislative process. The law goes into effect on July 1, 2026.
“We applaud Governor Spanberger for extending critical location privacy protections to all Virginians,” said Matt Schwartz, senior policy analyst at Consumer Reports. “Everyone deserves to have their sensitive location data protected rather than sold to the highest bidder. This new law will protect Virginians from a variety of harms, including stalking, targeted scams, and identity theft. We also want to thank Senator Russell Perry for her leadership on this critical issue, as well as the Virginia General Assembly for unanimously approving this legislation. We hope this law will serve as an impetus for more states to do the same, because ultimately, all consumers deserve these protections.”
Virginia now joins Maryland and Oregon in banning the sale of precise geolocation information. Several other states are considering similar bans during the 2026 legislative session, including California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Vermont.
Consumer Reports recently released model legislation, the State Location Privacy Act, that would similarly ban the sale of consumers’ precise geolocation information.
Contact: cyrus.rassool@consumer.org