Florida’s Consumer Privacy Law Fails to Pass

|Article
Lowndes

On Friday, April 30, Florida’s legislature closed its 2021 session without passing the much anticipated Florida Privacy Act. The Act largely failed to pass due to a disagreement between Florida’s house that wanted a private right of action included and the Florida Senate that wanted only Florida’s Attorney General to have enforcement rights. Given that both Republicans and Democrats supported the legislation, it is likely that another version of the Act will be taken up next year.

If the Act had passed, Florida would have been the third state to adopt such a comprehensive consumer privacy bill, joining California, which passed the California Consumer Privacy Act in 2018, and Virginia, which enacted the Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act on March 2, 2021. Washington state is likely to be the next state to pass comprehensive legislation. Europe previously implemented its General Data Protection Regulation in 2016, after which the California law is modeled.

If it had passed, the Florida bill likely would have covered entities that do business with Florida citizens and to which one of the following applied: met a revenue requirement regardless of number of records processed (e.g. $25 million), derived 50% or more of their revenue from processing such records, or that that bought, sold, or received a minimum number of records (e.g. 50,000 Florida residents, households or devices) annually. Given that the California version of this law has similar triggers, this trigger mechanism is likely to come back if Florida takes up the issue next year.


This article is for informational purposes only and does not provide legal advice. Please do not act or refrain from acting based on anything you read here. Please review the full disclaimer for more information. Relying on the information provided in this article or communicating with Lowndes through our website does not create an attorney/client relationship.

Jump to Page

We use cookies on our website to improve functionality and collect statistical information on our website traffic. For details on how we use cookies, please see our Privacy Policy. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use

Necessary Cookies

Necessary cookies enable core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility. This type of cookie does not collect any personally identifiable information about you and does not track your browsing habits. You may disable necessary cookies by changing your browser settings, but this may affect how the website functions.

Analytical Cookies

Analytical cookies (also known as performance cookies) help us improve our website by collecting and reporting information on its usage at an aggregate level. You may disable analytical cookies by clicking on the Manage Cookies button.