SEN. CABRERA VOTES FOR CONSUMER PRIVACY BILL TO PROTECT PERSONAL DATA IN CONNECTICUT

HARTFORD – State Senator Jorge Cabrera (D- Hamden) today voted for a bill that will safeguard Connecticut residents’ personal information from exploitation by data brokers, surveillance technology companies, and federal agencies.

“Artificial intelligence advancements and energy-sucking data centers seem to be expanding by leaps and bounds every week, all with one goal in mind: to capture, sell, and profit from your personal information. We need a better system than that, and that’s what this legislation does,” said Sen. Cabrera.

Senate Bill 4 “An Act Concerning Consumer Privacy and Protection,” addresses a broad range of emerging privacy threats and introduces comprehensive privacy measures that address new threats to consumer data. The bill tackles critical privacy concerns, including the lightly regulated sale of geolocation data and facial recognition technology and the exploitative practices of data brokers.

Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff submitted written testimony on SB 4 and explained how his friend and colleague, Minnesota Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman, and her husband, Mark, were assassinated last summer. Although this terrible tragedy was widely reported in the news, what most people do not know is that the murderer, Vance Boelter, obtained Speaker Hortman’s residential address through data broker websites. For just a few dollars, anyone can gain access to personal information, including home addresses, phone numbers, and even photos of a legislator’s home and license plates.

“We do not need to be concerned about becoming an Orwellian state,” said Sen. Duff. “We are already there. “Big Brother” is listening, and if we do not act immediately, we may lose our inherent rights to privacy forever. I am proud of my colleagues today for passing this important piece of legislation that works to protect our community from those who profit off our most sensitive personal information.”

Senate Bill 4 targets the following specific threats to consumer privacy:

• Data brokers: Consumers may request, at no cost, the deletion of any personal data collected by a data broker.
• Facial recognition: Businesses using facial recognition in public spaces must disclose it at each entrance and provide a process for consumers to request removal of their images.
• Dynamic pricing: Strict disclosure requirements apply when businesses use algorithmic pricing to increase prices.
• Geolocation data: Controllers and processors are banned from selling or sharing precise geolocation data.
• Genetic Testing: Consumers would have the right to their own genetic data when using direct-to-consumer genetic testing services, and create more transparency in their policies.
• Volume of Ads: Streaming platforms cannot transmit the audio of any commercial advertisement at a volume that is louder than the volume established by the Federal Communications Commission for television commercials.

Senate Bill 4 passed the Senate today on a bipartisan 31-4 vote and now heads to the House of Representatives for consideration; the 2026 legislative session ends on Wednesday, May 6.