CA Bill Would Protect Consumer Location and Biometric Data

A bill that appears to be on track for passage would extend California data privacy law to geophysical location and biometric data.“The bill reflects an increasing interest in geophysical location information as a protected form of personal data and, whether it passes or not, it is unlikely to be the last word on the subject,” write Nixon Peabody attorneys Karl D. Belgum and Sterling Chan. The bill, known as AB 83, would amend current California privacy law by adding geophysical location and biometric data to the types of data that could constitute “personal information.” AB 83 would affect, among other things, the lucrative business of targeted advertising, although it would not end it altogether because its protections would kick in only when the specified types of data are linked with a person’s name.