Privacy & Information Security Law Blog

On July 23, 2019, New York City Council members introduced Int. 1632-2019 (the “Bill”), an amendment to the administrative code of New York City that would prohibit telecommunications carriers and mobile applications from sharing a customer’s location data if such data was collected from a device in the five boroughs.

The Bill creates a private right of action for any customer whose location data has been shared unlawfully. It also provides certain narrow exceptions to the ban on sharing, including to comply with law and a customer’s provision of the information for an “authorized use,” meaning for a service the customer explicitly requested.

Earlier this summer, on July 9, 2019, Hawaii Governor David Y. Ige vetoed HB702, which would have amended Hawaii’s Unfair and Deceptive Practices statute to similarly prohibit the sale of location data without explicit consent. Had it passed, it would have been the first law of its kind in the United States.