Nevada moves to protect consumers’ online info

CARSON CITY – A Senate bill heard Monday aims to strengthen internet privacy protections for consumers by letting them demand websites and other online services not sell their personal information.

Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro, D-Las Vegas, the main sponsor of Senate Bill 220, said she was prompted to bring the bill after complaints from constituents who got robocalls or business solicitations for services or products they had searched for online.

“There is trend toward states taking on this issue” pending action by the federal government, Cannizzaro told the Senate Commerce and Labor Committee. The state has a responsibility “to ensure that consumers have the capability to protect their personal identifying information” with a procedure to “opt out from having their personal information sold to a third party.”

Cannizzaro said she had met with industry and trade representatives from technology, media, retail, communications and payment card companies and accepted suggested amendments. She said the bill would narrow its scope to exclude, for example, transfers of personal information that are related to a transaction, such as processing a payment. And it would give companies up to 90 days to respond to consumers’ official request to protect information.

She said another amendment in the works would exempt areas already covered by federal law, such as health care and financial services communications.

“This is really meant to get at individuals who are selling information,” she said.

Representatives of internet service providers and companies including Google and Mastercard endorsed the bill with the amendments. There was no testimony in opposition.

Contact Bill Dentzer at bdentzer@reviewjournal.com or 775-461-0661. Follow @DentzerNews on Twitter.