Episode 52: State Privacy Law with Senator James Maroney

On this episode, Alan Chapell is joined by Connecticut State Senator James Maroney as the Senator shares the backstory regarding how he got involved in pushing for a privacy law in Connecticut, how those efforts are impacted by lobbying efforts, and how different states are collaborating to create the privacy and AI patchwork.

The Senator also shares what's on his mind when it comes to future privacy and AI laws for Connecticut. The Senator's bio is available at https://www.senatedems.ct.gov/senator/james-maroney/bio" Takeaways

• Privacy policymaking often starts accidentally, not by design.

• Lobbying pressure remains the biggest barrier to passing strong privacy laws.

• Persistence and bipartisan cooperation helped Connecticut succeed after three years.

• The Global Privacy Control requirement made Connecticut a national privacy leader.

• Simplified opt-out processes improve user empowerment and enforcement.

• Consent fatigue weakens privacy protections; minimization is a better path.

• Broad definitions of personal data can discourage privacy innovation.

• Data brokers and AI oversight are the next frontiers in state privacy policy.

• Multi-state collaboration is reshaping privacy and AI governance in the U.S.

• Federal law should set a strong floor, not a ceiling, for privacy protections.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Senator Maroney’s background 01:00 How privacy legislation found him 02:32 Early challenges and heavy lobbying resistance 05:04 Lessons from failed attempts and building allies 07:46 Adding the Global Privacy Control requirement 10:02 Balancing consent fatigue with real user protection 12:45 Defining personal vs. de-identified data 15:31 Strengthening Connecticut’s law through updates 17:47 Considering data broker oversight and the DELETE Act 20:31 Multi-state collaboration and AI policy efforts 23:45 Regulating sensitive data and consent standards 27:00 Authorized agents and consumer rights limits 31:02 Rulemaking challenges and avoiding patchwork laws 35:32 Federal preemption, enforcement, and private actions 40:30 Enforcement, lawsuits, and the search for balance 43:00 Closing remarks and UConn basketball predictions

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