While companies prepare for the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) to come into effect on January 1, they may also need to catch up on a law that is already on the books – Nevada’s internet consumer privacy law.
On Oct. 1, Nevada enacted Senate Bill 220, which provides residents of Nevada with the right to opt out of the sale of certain personal identifiable information (PII) that is collected on a website or online service. Like the CCPA, Nevada has adopted a broad definition of PII, to include first and last name, address, email address, phone number, social security number, identifier that allows a specific person to be contacted either physically or online, and a large “catch all provision” of any other information concerning a person collected from the person through the operator’s website or online service and maintained by the operator in combination with an identifier in a form that makes the information personally identifiable.
Unlike the CCPA, however, the Nevada law only pertains to the collection of information by companies online. Online and e-commerce business should pay particular attention to the new law. Also, unlike the CCPA, there are no rights to access or delete the covered information. Another notable distinction is the length of time a business needs to respond to a request. If a business needs to respond, they have 60 days to do so (compared to CCPA 45 days).
Determining whether the law applies is always a threshold issue. In short, the Nevada law applies to those who purposefully direct activities towards Nevada, and with Nevada residents, and avails themselves of the privileges of conducting activities in Nevada.
Certain industries may be exempt: automotive manufacturers, health care providers, and financial institutions, but exemptions need to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.
What should a business do?
As the landscape of privacy laws continues to change, it is imperative to associate with qualified legal counsel to determine what laws actually apply to your business operations and how to best create a data privacy program that fits your business’s needs.
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