Your Daily Privacy & Surveillance Briefing

New State and Federal Laws Advance Digital Protections Amid Shifting Surveillance Targets

• Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont signed Senate Bill 4 into law on Friday, enacting significant data privacy updates inspired by California's "Delete Act." The new legislation mandates an online platform for residents to delete their information from registered data brokers, prohibits the sale of consumer geolocation data, and imposes strict limitations on license plate reader technology. It also formally regulates facial recognition under Connecticut's privacy framework, requiring businesses to post notice of its use and expanding consumer rights related to automated profiling decisions.

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• At the federal level, new bipartisan efforts aim to modernize digital privacy. Representatives Suzan DelBene (WA-01) and Warren Davidson (OH-08), along with Senators Mike Lee (UT) and Ron Wyden (OR), introduced the Email Privacy Act, which would require warrants for law enforcement to access emails regardless of age, updating the outdated Electronic Communications Privacy Act of the 1980s. Separately, Representative John Joyce (R-PA) introduced the SECURE Data Act, proposing a comprehensive federal privacy framework consistent with state laws, including rights to know, access, correct, delete, and opt out of certain data processing activities.

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• Internal U.S. government documents reveal a significant shift in federal intelligence agencies' surveillance apparatus, now targeting "anti-technology extremists." Reports obtained by Wired via FOIA requests indicate that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the FBI, and localized fusion centers are tracking a broad category of citizens, raising civil liberties concerns, particularly as the White House's security directives target "anti-American," "anti-Christian," and "anti-capitalism" ideologies. This new classification, "anti-technology violent extremist activity," is not found in publicly available federal extremism guides and could encompass peaceful protests against data centers or AI skepticism.

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