The Washington legislature is in session from January 9 – April 23 and there are some exciting privacy and tech justice bills on the table. Here’s several that we’ll be focusing on.
- My Health My Data (HB 1155 / SB 5351), a new health data privacy bill from Rep. Vandana Slatter and Sen. Manka Dhingra, working with the Attorney General’s office. A broad coalition of reproductive justice, gender justice, immigrant rights, privacy, and civil liberties groups support My Health My Data. The article Proposed Washington law puts period-tracking apps on notice has more about the bill, and A very encouraging first step covers its first hearing.
- The Shield Law (SB 5489 / HB 1469 ), from Sen. Yasmin Trudeau and Rep. Drew Hansen, also supported by the broad coalition of groups supporting My Health My Data.
- The People’s Privacy Act (HB 1616), from Rep. Shelley Kloba and Rep. Carolyn Eslick, and originally drafted by the ACLU of Washington working with the Tech Equity Coalition.
- Automated Decision Systems (ADS) Regulation (SB 5356) from Sen. Bob Hasegawa, supported by the ACLU of Washignton and the Tech Equity Coaltion.
- Nothing About Us Without Us (HB 1541), from Rep. Darya Farivar (D), supported by disability justice advocates including Disability Rights Washington.
A much more favorable environment, but a lot of complexity Washington state privacy legislation 2023, on The Nexus of Privacy, is an overview of the situation and has some of the backstory.