Retailers may face new challenges with proposed data privacy bill

Jan 30, 2025
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Written by WR Communications
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Washington State is considering HB 1671, a data privacy bill introduced by Rep. Shelley Kloba (D-1), that could significantly impact the retail industry. The legislation proposes sweeping changes to how businesses collect, process, and manage consumer information.

While intended to enhance consumer privacy, the bill’s broad scope and complex requirements pose substantial challenges for retailers statewide. Key concerns include:

Broad Definition of Consumer Health Data:

The bill broadly defines “consumer health data”, potentially covering everyday purchases like vitamins, fitness products, and over-the-counter medications. This ambiguity forces retailers to treat routine transactions as sensitive data, increasing compliance complexity.

Strict Consent Requirements:

Retailers would need to obtain explicit, separate consumer consent for data collection and sharing. This could disrupt seamless shopping experiences, frustrating customers and leading to abandoned transactions.

Conflicts with Existing Regulations:

Retailers already comply with federal and state data laws. HB 1671’s additional requirements could create a patchwork of conflicting state-by-state regulations, making compliance more difficult and costly.

The bill’s sweeping requirements fail to account for the realities of retail operations and could negatively impact services consumers rely on, such as loyalty programs and personalized shopping experiences. Additionally, it exposes retailers to steep penalties and civil litigation, even for inadvertent compliance failures.

WR is closely monitoring this bill and working with the member workgroup dedicated to Data Privacy to advocate on behalf of retailers across the state.

    

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