Data Privacy Happenings 📰
Hello from MineOS's monthly newsletter, The Privacy Mindset! 👋
The GDPR is now over 5 years old, giving it a substantial head start over the vast majority of data privacy regulations within the United States, but with the EU largely concerned with the complex process of enforcing such a landmark regulation in the years since its passage, the U.S. has slowly been passing more and more data privacy laws.
That doesn't mean the U.S. has gotten its act together on the topic, far from it. Europe continues to tell its younger ally that the framework for data transfers between the two economies must be stronger for the EU board to deem it adequate, creating issues as the discussions drag on without resolution.
But stateside, the wheels are finally turning, and in 2023, they've picked up speed. So far this year, 5 states (Iowa, Indiana, Tennessee, Montana, and Texas) have passed comprehensive data privacy laws, and a few more seem likely to pass before the year ends. Likewise, Washington just passed a sweeping new data privacy bill for healthcare data (more on that in a section below).
July 1, 2023 also marks a key date for U.S. data privacy, as California's CPRA, Colorado's CPA, and Connecticut's CTDPA all officially become effective. Suffice to say, a lot is happening.
That's not to detract from the GDPR, which is dropping 9- and 10-figure fines every month and of course set the basis for most of the bills in both the United States and abroad, but attitudes around the matter are in different (mostly positive) places.
There is finally momentum on data privacy in America, and even if all these bills fail to match the full scope of the GDPR, the bevy of regulations makes it feel like the gap in how both sides of the Atlantic approach data might be closing.
A large test in the coming year will be how these new American state-level laws adjust, as California famously passed sweeping progressive amendments to its own regulations within 24 months of its passing. Likewise, Connecticut just dropped a few major amendments to its law weeks before it goes live to increase protections for children's data and health data.
This precedent might actually work out well, getting the heavy lifting done first and hammering down details later, which is easier to do for a topic that has broad, bipartisan support like data privacy does. Either way, with more than a handful of laws finally on the books, America data protection is in a better spot relative to where it's previously been compared to the EU, which continues to be mired in fights with (often American) corporations and fighting hard battles over things like dark patterns.
Europe has paved the way and continues to push forward with the plow, but its pace has slowed and countries like the U.S. have greatly benefitted from the set path.
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