Privacy Law Patchwork Expands: Two New State Laws Join The Data Protection Mosaic

On July 1, 2024, two more U.S. states joined the data privacy law landscape, with Texas and Oregon being the latest states to have data privacy laws become effective. This now makes 7 states with effective state privacy laws. Montana's law is due to become effective on October 1 of this year, and 11 other states have passed similar laws which will become effective in 2025 and 2026. Entities that interact with consumers, have publicly available websites, and collect personal data from people in the U.S. must stay abreast of the newly effective laws, assess their applicability, and adapt or modify privacy policies and practices to ensure compliance.

As the number of state privacy laws grows, adding to the complexity of compliance, early 2024 hopes for the passage of a federal privacy law have dimmed. The American Privacy Rights Act (APRA), introduced by a bi-partisan group in Congress on April 7 of this year, was initially well received; however, momentum