As states' "top cops," one of the primary
responsibilities of state attorneys general (AGs) is consumer
protection, and more and more AGs are focusing on how to protect
consumer data privacy. Discussions at the recent Conference of
Western Attorneys General ("CWAG") Annual Meeting in
Santa Barbara reflect this focus and demonstrate that state
enforcers are looking at new authority, and new ways to expand
their existing authority, to ensure that their citizens' data
privacy is protected.
These discussion took place during two separate panels, one
focused on data privacy in general (moderated by American Samoa AG
Ale and including senior AG staff from Arizona and New Mexico) and
the other on connected devices (the Internet of Things or
"IoT," moderated by New Mexico AG Balderas and including
senior AG staff from Colorado). The panels were wide-ranging,
touching on issues such as the use of jail-broken IoT devices for
piracy, proposed state legislation to prevent the
