Florida on Tuesday became the 10th U.S. state to pass a comprehensive consumer data privacy law.
Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law SB 262, which is scheduled to take effect July 1, 2024. The law is the fifth to be approved among U.S. states within the past three months, joining Iowa, Indiana, Tennessee, and Montana.
Montana will join Florida with data privacy bills coming into force in 2024, while Iowa and Tennessee’s laws each take effect in 2025. Indiana’s protections will be effective at the start of 2026.
The five state laws join five others—California, Colorado, Connecticut, Utah, and Virginia—either taking effect or being amended this year.
The Florida bill, like its other state counterparts, gives consumers more rights to control how their personal data is collected and used by companies. However, the Florida bill is separate from other states by only applying to larger businesses with more than $1 billion in annual revenue.
“Floridians should have the right to control their own personal data,” said DeSantis in a press release. “If a multibillion-dollar company is conspiring to take your data and sell it or use it against you, it is your right to be able to protect that data. No longer will the Big Tech oligarchs be able to commandeer your personal information and deprive you of the right to access, confirm, or delete that data as you wish.”
The law will be enforced by the Florida Department of Legal Affairs and calls for civil penalties of up to $50,000 per violation, with potential for penalties to triple under certain circumstances.
In other states, privacy laws are enforced by the respective attorneys general except for California, where the California Privacy Protection Agency will take charge of enforcing the California Consumer Privacy Act as of July 1.
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