Virginia Governor Signs Privacy Bill

Virginia looks set to become the second state, after California, with a comprehensive privacy law. Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) signed the Consumer Data Protection Act into law, the legislature's website showed Tuesday evening. The action was widely expected but the governor's office hadn't commented on whether he would give his OK. The bill is SB-1392.

The Virginia Senate voted 32-7 recently to send HB-2307 to Northam. That was after the House voted 89-9 for SB-1392, the Senate's same version. See our earlier report here. The governor's office didn’t comment right away.

"Like the landmark California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), Virginia’s CDPA gives consumers the right to access, delete, and stop the sale of their personal information," said Consumer Reports. CR said the law takes effect Jan. 1, 2023. Some privacy advocates wanted a bigger opt-in requirement for companies to get consumer consent to share people's information.