Michigan AG Steps In To Defend State Privacy Law

The Michigan attorney general intervened November 22 in a suit brought under a Michigan privacy law, making it one of the first times a state attorney general has weighed in on a case involving data use.

Michigan AG Bill Schuette defended the constitutionality of the Michigan Preservation of Personal Privacy Act, otherwise known as the Video Rental Privacy Act, citing the rights of Michigan residents to privacy in the video, audio, and reading materials they borrow or purchase. A Michigan resident had brought suit against Consumers Union of United States, alleging that the company had disclosed information, including his address and the names of magazines to which he subscribed, to "data mining" companies and other third parties, without obtaining his consent or providing him notice of the disclosure.