It’s a new year and it looks like 2021 is going to be another eventful one for privacy. In the past few weeks, we’ve seen several states introduce new privacy legislation, starting with Washington. On January 5, the Washington Privacy Act of 2021 (SB 5062) was introduced in the Washington State Senate and subsequently referred to the Environment, Energy & Technology Committee. SB 5062 incorporates key concepts from California’s Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and empowers Washingtonians to control their personal data by granting new privacy rights and imposing corresponding obligations on businesses who collect and process this data. If passed, SB 5062 would take effect on July 31, 2022, with a four-year delayed effective date for higher education institutions and nonprofits.
