Starting July 31, Minnesotans will have new data privacy rights under the Minnesota Consumer Data Privacy Act.
The Minnesota Consumer Data Privacy Act will give consumers several new rights, including to access, edit, request deletion and obtain a copy of their personal data obtained by businesses, as well as the right to opt out of targeted advertising, data sales and profiling.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison and chief author of the 2024 legislation, Rep. Steve Elkins, DFL-Bloomington, held a press conference Monday, July 28, discussing the new protections.
“For years, we’ve come to be conditioned to believe that our privacy and our private data just isn’t really private at all,” Ellison said. “When we wear a smart watch or we turn GPS tracking on our phones, when we use a web browser or sign up for an email newsletter, we generate private, sensitive data companies have been free to buy and sell that data without any permission from us, without our knowledge even and without any mechanism for us to make them stop. On July 31 … that all changes in the state of Minnesota.”
Here’s what it means to businesses…
Under the new law, businesses subject to the MCDPA are those that control or process the personal data of 100,000 or more Minnesota residents, earn 25% of their revenue from the sale of personal data, or control personal data of 25,000 consumers or more.
Businesses will also be required to request parental permission for selling and using the data of users under the age of 16, and must provide a list of third parties their business has sold personal data to, if the consumer requests it.
Elkins said the types of businesses commonly affected by the new consumer protections range from weather and menstrual tracking apps to major tech companies like Google, as well as data brokers.
And what it might mean to consumers…
Minnesotans looking to exercise these new rights can contact businesses directly. The new law requires businesses to respond within 45 days, as well as include an email address or other online mechanism within their privacy disclosures page for consumers to use, according to Ellison’s office.
Consumers can also visit the attorney general’s website at privacymn.com for more instructions on both how to contact businesses as well as how to file formal legal complaints for businesses suspected of violating the MCDPA.