In their post The Best & Worst States in America for Online Privacy, the PIA Blog provides a terrific summary of data privacy protections by state. As the chart shows, Massachusetts is in middle meeting 3 of their 5 criteria for onlne privacy.
Their Ranking Criteria
We used five major criteria to determine which states had the best and worst online privacy protections in place. For each criteria, a specific set of questions was answered and the results were tallied for each state. Our criteria are as follows:
General Strength of Privacy Laws
✅ Does the consumer have a right to access, delete, or modify personal data? ✅ Can consumers opt-out of data collection and use? ✅ Are companies required to disclose data collection, source, and use information? ✅ Are ISPs required to protect online privacy under current legislation?
General Strength of Data Security Laws
✅ How do companies in each state safeguard consumer data? ✅ What methods are used to create and enforce privacy policies? ✅ How many forms of personal data are protected under law?
Presence of Data Broker Laws
✅ Do laws exist to monitor/regulate what type of information is collected? ✅ Do laws exist that prevent them from selling certain forms of information? ✅ What, if any, rights do consumers have in regard to data brokers?
Laws in Place to Protect Children’s Privacy
✅ Are laws in place to protect children age K-9 while using the internet? ✅ Do parents/minors have the ability to remove data on request? ✅ Can third parties knowingly use, disclose, or collect a minor’s information?
Strength of Companies’ Data Collection Policies
✅ Are companies required to disclose what employee data they collect/store? ✅ Do employees have the right to delete personal data on request? ✅ Do employees have the right to opt out of third party sharing? ✅ Are companies required to inform employees of internet traffic and email monitoring?
The PIA Blog post provides great information on data privacy by state. For more information see, Best & Worst US States for Online Privacy
