Connecticut Senate passed Senate Bill 4, allowing residents to demand deletion of their data from brokers and restricting the sale of geolocation and genetic data
Bill requires businesses using facial recognition in public spaces to disclose it and requires disclosure when businesses use algorithmic pricing to increase prices
Legislation was partly prompted by the assassination of Minnesota House Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman and her husband, whose home address was obtained through a data broker website
Connecticut residents would have new tools to protect their personal data from commercial data brokers, surveillance technology companies, and federal agencies under legislation passed Thursday by the state Senate.
The Senate advanced S.B. 4 on a 31- 4, bipartisan vote, sending the legislation to the House for consideration ahead of the session’s May 6 deadline. Only Republican Senators Rob Sampson, Heather Somers, Tony Hwang, and Ryan Fazio voted against the consumer protections.
The bill addresses a range of emerging privacy threats, from the sale of precise geolocation data to facial recognition systems in retail spaces. Sen. James Maroney, a Milford Democrat who co-chairs the General Law Committee, said the bill gives residents more say over what happens to data about where they live, worship, and seek medical care.
“Senate Bill 4 puts people back in control of their own data,” Maroney said. “At the same time, we are making it clear that Connecticut will not be a place where surveillance technology is weaponized against our residents, whether by corporations or by federal agencies overstepping their authority.”
Under the bill, consumers may request the deletion of any personal information held by a data broker. Businesses that use facial recognition technology in public spaces would be required to post notice at each entrance and provide a process for consumers to seek removal of their images.
The bill also bans controllers and processors from selling or sharing precise geolocation data, a practice that has drawn scrutiny after reports that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) purchased such data from commercial vendors. Earlier this year, Wegmans disclosed the use of facial recognition in its stores, raising concerns that the data could be shared with federal immigration agencies.
The bill was also driven in part by the assassination last summer of Minnesota House Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman and her husband. Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff, who submitted written testimony on the bill, said the gunman obtained Hortman’s home address through a data broker website for just a few dollars.
“Big Brother is listening,” Duff said, “and if we do not act immediately, we may lose our inherent rights to privacy forever.”
Senate President Pro Tempore Martin Looney called privacy “a fundamental right” and said personal data is being “sold, manipulated, and shared in a manner that undermines our constituents’ civil liberties.”
In addition to data broker and geolocation provisions, the bill creates new transparency requirements for businesses that use algorithmic pricing to raise costs, expands consumer rights over genetic testing data, and bars streaming platforms from broadcasting commercial audio at volumes higher than FCC standards for television.
By Hugh McQuaid
