Del. House Panel Advances Amended Data Broker Registry Bill
The Delaware House Appropriations Committee unanimously advanced an amended version of data broker transparency bill HB-262 Wednesday. The measure would require companies that collect and sell information of more than 500 Delawareans to register and fill out a questionnaire with the state's DOJ, which then would share information with consumers on a website. The House Technology and Telecommunications Committee advanced an earlier version of HB-262 in January (see 2201250060).
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House Technology and Telecommunications Chair Krista Griffith (D) told Appropriations members she believes the HB-262 amendment she filed last month “resolves the vast majority of” concerns voiced by the Delaware State Chamber of Commerce, the Delaware Bankers Association and others. The amendment clarifies that a “business that does not sell or license brokered personal information does not have to register” with the state DOJ. It eliminates the private right of action against data brokers for violating the statute’s “duty to protect personal information" but gives the Delaware attorney general exclusive authority to “bring an action” to address violations. It excludes financial institutions or affiliates subject to the federal Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act from its definition of a data market participant.
“We have to tell our constituents that there’s no realistic way for the average Delawarean to track who’s making a profit selling information that fundamentally belongs to that person,” Griffith said. HB-262 “is a plan to fix that” by giving “Delawareans a clear and concise way to determine who is selling their personal information” via the state DOJ website. The proposed graduated $10-$500 registration fee for brokers is “not meant to be heavy-handed” and “will help pay for the program,” she said. Delaware OMB Policy Director Brenda Wise noted current FY 2023 appropriations legislation doesn’t provide any funding to implement HB-262.
State Rep. Ruth Briggs King (R) said she strongly backs HB-262, saying data brokers are frequently “taking advantage of” people who don’t stop to read through an app’s online terms of service. “People should read the agreements, but I’d ask how many people here read every disclaimer before they clicked on an app?,” she said. It’s “unfortunate” lawmakers have to pursue a data broker registration system, but there should be “some higher degree of consumer protection” to cover personal data, particularly since brokers can start selling a person’s information “when you’re 18,” which “can have severe ramifications that can last you a long time.”