Vermont Just Changed The Rules For Data Brokers – Is Your Business Ready?

Vermont recently passed a major update to its data broker law (HB 211), joining California and Texas as one of the few states with privacy laws targeting businesses that collect and sell consumer data. Here’s what businesses that collect consumer information and share it with third parties need to know:

• Broader definitions – The law now captures more types of consumer data and narrows when a direct relationship with a consumer actually exists. Translation: more businesses may qualify as data brokers than before.

• Affiliate exception – Sharing data with affiliates is now excluded from the definition of a sale, aligning Vermont with Texas. California remains the only data broker state without this carve-out.