Maryland And Nebraska Adopt Comprehensive Privacy Laws

The final weeks for many state legislatures have witnessed significant movements in the U.S. data privacy landscape. Last month, Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen signed the Data Privacy Act, LB1074, into law. This month, Maryland Governor Wes Moore signed the Maryland Online Data Privacy Act (MODPA), SB541/HB567, and the Maryland Age-Appropriate Design Code Act, HB 603 into law. Finally, Vermont and Minnesota stand ready with the Vermont Data Privacy Act, H.121, and the Minnesota Consumer Data Privacy Act, SF4942/HF4975, which were passed by both chambers in the respective states and currently await governor signature.

In this post, we discuss the first two updates listed above, with a specific focus on Maryland's new privacy law because it meaningfully deviates from the state privacy models that have previously passed. As we elaborate upon below, the law has strict data minimization and sensitive data requirements, both of which may require companies to update their