Security News > 2021 > May > Effort to Protect Consumer Data Privacy Stalls in Florida
A campaign by Gov. Ron DeSantis to help Floridians regain ownership of the troves of data that companies collect came to a halt Friday, when state lawmakers could not agree on how tightly to limit how Big Data harvests and uses people's information.
Unlike the social media proposal, the legislative effort to address consumer data privacy was mostly bipartisan.
"We started an important conversation about data privacy for Floridians and took strong first steps toward commonsense changes," said Rep. Fiona McFarland, who sponsored the House version of the effort.
Florida, the country's third most populous state, would have been the latest to enact consumer protections against Big Data's ability to harvest information about how people conduct their day-to-day lives, including where they shop and eat, what they read and what they share online.
Businesses raised concern that complying with the law could cost billions of dollars, and it was unclear how quickly businesses could put in place the necessary infrastructure and protocols to comply.
Some have urged the federal government to move more quickly to address that power, including issues about privacy.