2024 -- S 2500

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LC005228

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2024

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO COMMERCIAL LAW -- GENERAL REGULATORY PROVISIONS --

RHODE ISLAND DATA TRANSPARENCY AND PRIVACY PROTECTION ACT

     Introduced By: Senators DiPalma, Euer, and DiMario

     Date Introduced: March 01, 2024

     Referred To: Senate Commerce

     It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

     SECTION 1. Legislative findings.

     The general assembly hereby finds and declares that:

     (1) The right to privacy is a personal and fundamental right protected by the United States

Constitution. As such, all individuals have a right to privacy in information pertaining to them. This

state recognizes the importance of providing customers with transparency about how their

personally identifiable information, especially information relating to their children, is shared by

businesses. This transparency is crucial for Rhode Island citizens to protect themselves and their

families from cyber-crimes and identity thieves.

     (2) Furthermore, for free market forces to have a role in shaping the privacy practices and

for "opt-in" and "opt-out" remedies to be effective, customers must be more than vaguely informed

that a business might share personal data with third parties (as that term is hereinafter defined).

Customers must be better informed about what kinds of personally identifiable information is

shared with other businesses. With these specifics, customers can knowledgeably choose to opt in,

opt out, or choose among businesses that disclose personal data to third parties on the basis of how

protective the business is of customers' privacy.

     (3) Businesses are now collecting personal data and disclosing it in ways not contemplated

or properly covered by the current law. Some websites are installing tracking tools that record when

customers visit webpages, and sending personal data, such as age, gender, race, income, health

concerns, religion, and recent purchases to third-party marketers and data brokers. Third-party data

broker companies are buying and disclosing personal data obtained from mobile phones, financial

institutions, social media sites, and other online and brick and mortar companies. Some mobile

applications are sharing personal data, such as location information, unique phone identification

numbers, age, gender, and other personal details with third-party companies.

     (4) As such, customers need to know the ways that their personal data are being collected

by companies and then shared or sold to third parties in order to properly protect their privacy,

personal safety, and financial security.

     SECTION 2. Title 6 of the General Laws entitled "COMMERCIAL LAW — GENERAL

REGULATORY PROVISIONS" is hereby amended by adding thereto the following chapter:

CHAPTER 48.1

RHODE ISLAND DATA TRANSPARENCY AND PRIVACY PROTECTION ACT

     6-48.1-1. Short title.

     This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Rhode Island Data Transparency and

Privacy Protection Act".

     6-48.1-2. Definitions.

     As used in this chapter:

     (1) "Affiliate" means any entity that shares common branding with another legal entity

directly or indirectly, controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with another legal

entity. For this purpose, "control" or "controlled" means ownership of, or the power to vote, more

than fifty percent (50%) of the outstanding shares of any class of voting security of a company,

control in any manner over the election of a majority of the directors or of individuals exercising

similar functions, or the power to exercise controlling influence over the management of a

company.

     (2) "Authenticate" means to use reasonable means to determine that a request to exercise

any of the rights afforded under this chapter is being made by, or on behalf of, the customer who is

entitled to exercise such customer rights with respect to the personal data at issue.

     (3) "Biometric data" means data generated by automatic measurements of an individual's

biological characteristics, such as a fingerprint, a voiceprint, eye retinas, irises or other unique

biological patterns or characteristics that are used to identify a specific individual. "Biometric data"

does not include a digital or physical photograph, an audio or video recording, or any data generated

from a digital or physical photograph, or an audio or video recording, unless such data is generated

to identify a specific individual.

     (4) "Business associate" has the same meaning as provided in 45 C.F.R. § 160.103.

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     (5) "Child" has the same meaning as provided in 15 U.S.C. § 6501.

     (6) "Consent" means a clear, affirmative act signifying a customer has freely given,

specific, informed and unambiguous agreement to allow the processing of personal data relating to

the customer. "Consent" may include a written statement, including by electronic means, or any

other unambiguous affirmative action. "Consent" does not include acceptance of a general or broad

term of use or similar document that contains descriptions of personal data processing along with

other, unrelated information, hovering over, muting, pausing or closing a given piece of content, or

agreement obtained through the use of dark patterns.

     (7) "Controller" means an individual who, or legal entity that, alone or jointly with others

determines the purpose and means of processing personal data.

     (8) "COPPA" means the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998, 15 USC § 6501

et seq., and the regulations, rules, guidance and exemptions adopted, pursuant to said act, as said

act and such regulations, rules, guidance and exemptions may be amended from time to time.

     (9) "Covered entity" has the same meaning as provided in 45 C.F.R. § 160.103.

     (10) "Customer" means an individual residing in this state acting in an individual or

household context. "Customer" does not include an individual acting in a commercial or

employment context or as an employee, owner, director, officer or contractor of a company,

partnership, sole proprietorship, nonprofit or government agency whose communications or

transactions with the controller occur solely within the context of that individual's role with the

company, partnership, sole proprietorship, nonprofit or government agency.

     (11) "Dark pattern" means a user interface designed or manipulated with the substantial

effect of subverting or impairing user autonomy, decision-making or choice, and includes, but is

not limited to, any practice the Federal Trade Commission refers to as a "dark pattern".

     (12) "Decisions that produce legal or similarly significant effects concerning the customer"

means decisions made by the controller that result in the provision or denial by the controller of

financial or lending services, housing, insurance, education enrollment or opportunity, criminal

justice, employment opportunities, health care services or access to essential goods or services.

     (13) "De-identified data" means data that cannot reasonably be used to infer information

about, or otherwise be linked to, an identified or identifiable individual, or a device linked to such

individual.

      (14) "HIPAA" means the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, 42

USC § 1320d et seq., as amended from time to time.

     (15) "Identified or identifiable individual" means an individual who can be readily

identified, directly or indirectly.

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     (16) "Institution of higher education" means any individual who, or school, board,

association, limited liability company or corporation that, is licensed or accredited to offer one or

more programs of higher learning leading to one or more degrees.

     (17) "Nonprofit organization" means any organization that is exempt from taxation under

Section 501(c)(3), 501(c)(4), 501(c)(6) or 501(c)(12) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, or any

subsequent corresponding Internal Revenue Code of the United States, as amended from time to

time.

      (18) "Personal data" means any information that is linked or reasonably linkable to an

identified or identifiable individual and does not include de-identified data or publicly available

information.

      (19) "Precise geolocation data" means information derived from technology, including,

but not limited to, global positioning system level latitude and longitude coordinates or other

mechanisms, that directly identifies the specific location of an individual with precision and

accuracy within a radius of one thousand seven hundred fifty feet (1,750'). "Precise geolocation

data" does not include the content of communications or any data generated by or connected to

advanced utility metering infrastructure systems or equipment for use by a utility.

     (20) "Process" or "processing" means any operation or set of operations performed,

whether by manual or automated means, on personal data or on sets of personal data, such as the

collection, use, storage, disclosure, analysis, deletion or modification of personal data. "Processor"

means an individual who, or legal entity that, processes personal data on behalf of a controller.

     (21) "Profiling" means any form of automated processing performed on personal data to

evaluate, analyze or predict personal aspects related to an identified or identifiable individual's

economic situation, health, personal preferences, interests, reliability, behavior, location or

movements.

     (22) "Protected health information" has the same meaning as provided in 42 USC § 1320d.

     (23) "Pseudonymous data" means personal data that cannot be attributed to a specific

individual without the use of additional information; provided such additional information is kept

separately and is subject to appropriate technical and organizational measures to ensure that the

personal data is not attributed to an identified or identifiable individual.

     (24) "Publicly available information" means information that is lawfully made available

through federal, state or municipal government records or widely distributed media, or a controller

has a reasonable basis to believe a customer has lawfully made available to the general public.

     (25) "Sale of personal data" means the exchange of personal data for monetary or other

valuable consideration by the controller to a third party. "Sale of personal data" does not include

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the disclosure of personal data to a processor that processes the personal data on behalf of the

controller, the disclosure of personal data to a third party for purposes of providing a product or

service requested by the customer, the disclosure or transfer of personal data to an affiliate of the

controller, the disclosure of personal data where the customer directs the controller to disclose the

personal data or intentionally uses the controller to interact with a third party, the disclosure of

personal data that the customer:

     (i) Intentionally made available to the general public via a channel of mass media; and

     (ii) Did not restrict to a specific audience, or the disclosure or transfer of personal data to

a third party as an asset that is part of a merger, acquisition, bankruptcy or other transaction, or a

proposed merger, acquisition, bankruptcy or other transaction, in which the third party assumes

control of all or part of the controller's assets.

     (26) "Sensitive data" means personal data that includes data revealing racial or ethnic

origin, religious beliefs, mental or physical health condition or diagnosis, sex life, sexual orientation

or citizenship or immigration status, the processing of genetic or biometric data for the purpose of

uniquely identifying an individual, personal data collected from a known child, or precise

geolocation data.

     (27) "Targeted advertising" means displaying advertisements to a customer where the

advertisement is selected based on personal data obtained or inferred from that customer's activities

over time and across nonaffiliated Internet websites or online applications to predict such

customer's preferences or interests. "Targeted advertising" does not include advertisements based

on activities within a controller's own Internet websites or online applications, advertisements

based on the context of a customer's current search query, or current visit to an Internet website or

online application, advertisements directed to a customer in response to the customer's request for

information or feedback, or processing personal data solely to measure or report advertising

frequency, performance or reach.

     (28) "Third party" means an individual or legal entity, such as a public authority, agency

or body, other than the customer, controller or processor or an affiliate of the processor or of the

controller.

     (29) "Trade secret" has the same meaning as § 6-41-1.

     6-48.1-3. Information sharing practices.

     (a) A controller shall, in its customer agreement or incorporated addendum or in another

conspicuous location on its website or online service platform where similar notices are customarily

posted:

     (1) Identify all categories of personal data that the controller collects through the website

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or online service about customers;

     (2) Identify all categories of third parties to whom the controller may disclose that

personally identifiable information;

     (3) Identify how customers may exercise their consumer rights, including how a customer

may appeal a controller’s decision with regard to the customer’s request;

     (4) Identify the purposes for processing the personal data;

     (5) Identify the categories of personal data that the controller shares with third parties, if

any; and

     (6) Identify an active electronic mail address or other online mechanism that the customer

may use to contact the controller.

     (b) If a controller sells personal data to third parties or processes personal data for targeted

advertising, the controller shall clearly and conspicuously disclose such processing, as well as the

manner in which a customer may exercise the right to opt out of such processing.

     (c) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to authorize the collection, storage or

disclosure of information or data that is otherwise prohibited, restricted or regulated by state or

federal law.

     (d) A controller shall limit the collection of personal data to what is adequate, relevant and

reasonably necessary in relation to the purposes for which data is processed, as disclosed to the

customer. The controller shall not process personal data for purposes that are not reasonably

necessary to, nor compatible with, the disclosed purposes for which such personal data is processed,

as disclosed to the customer, unless the controller obtains the customer’s consent.

     (e) This chapter does not apply to any body, authority, board, bureau, commission, district

or agency of this state or any political subdivision of this state; nonprofit organization; institution

of higher education; national securities association that is registered under 15 U.S.C. § 78o-3 of the

Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended from time to time; financial institution or data subject

to Title V of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, 15 U.S.C. § 6801 et seq.; or covered entity or business

associate, as defined in 45 C.F.R. § 160.103.

     (f) The following information and data are exempt from the provisions of this chapter:

     (1) Protected health information under HIPAA;

     (2) Patient-identifying information for purposes of 42 U.S.C. § 290dd-2;

     (3) Identifiable private information for purposes of the federal policy for the protection of

human research subjects under 45 C.F.R. §§ 46.101 through 46.124;

     (4) Identifiable private information that is otherwise information collected as part of human

subjects research pursuant to the good clinical practice guidelines issued by the International

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Council for Harmonization of Technical Requirements for Pharmaceuticals for Human Use;

     (5) The protection of human subjects under 21 C.F.R. Parts 50 and 56, or personal data

used or shared in research, as defined in 45 C.F.R. § 164.501 or other research conducted in

accordance with applicable law;

     (6) Information and documents created for purposes of the Health Care Quality

Improvement Act of 1986, 42 U.S.C. § 11101 et seq.;

     (7) Patient safety work product for purposes of the Patient Safety and Quality Improvement

Act, 42 U.S.C. § 299b-21 et seq., as amended from time to time;

     (8) Information derived from any of the health care related information listed in this

subsection that is de-identified in accordance with the requirements for de-identification pursuant

to HIPAA;

     (9) Information originating from and intermingled to be indistinguishable with, or

information treated in the same manner as, information exempt under this subsection that is

maintained by a covered entity or business associate, program or qualified service organization, as

specified in 42 U.S.C. § 290dd-2, as amended from time to time;

     (10) Information used for public health activities and purposes as authorized by HIPAA,

community health activities and population health activities;

     (11) The collection, maintenance, disclosure, sale, communication or use of any personal

information bearing on a customer's credit worthiness, credit standing, credit capacity, character,

general reputation, personal characteristics or mode of living by a customer reporting agency,

furnisher or user that provides information for use in a customer report, and by a user of a customer

report, but only to the extent that such activity is regulated by and authorized under the Fair Credit

Reporting Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1681 et seq., as amended from time to time;

     (12) Personal data collected, processed, sold or disclosed in compliance with the Driver's

Privacy Protection Act of 1994, 18 U.S.C. § 2721 et seq., as amended from time to time;

     (13) Personal data regulated by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, 20 U.S.C.

§ 1232g et seq., as amended from time to time;

     (14) Personal data collected, processed, sold or disclosed in compliance with the Farm

Credit Act, 12 U.S.C. § 2001 et seq., as amended from time to time;

     (15) Data processed or maintained in the course of an individual applying to, employed by

or acting as an agent or independent contractor of a controller, processor or third party, to the extent

that the data is collected and used within the context of that role, as the emergency contact

information of an individual or that is necessary to retain to administer benefits for another

individual relating to the individual who is the subject of the information under this subsection and

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used for the purposes of administering such benefits; and

     (16) Personal data collected, processed, sold or disclosed in relation to price, route or

service, as such terms are used in the Airline Deregulation Act, 49 U.S.C. § 40101 et seq., as

amended from time to time, by an air carrier subject to said act, to the extent subsections 1 to 11,

inclusive, of this section are preempted by the Airline Deregulation Act, 49 U.S.C. § 41713, as

amended from time to time.

     6-48.1-4. Processing of information.

     (a) The controller shall establish, implement, and maintain reasonable administrative,

technical and physical data security practices to protect the confidentiality, integrity and

accessibility of personal data.

     (b) The controller shall not process sensitive data concerning a customer without obtaining

customer consent and shall not process sensitive data of a child unless consent is obtained and the

information is processed in accordance with COPPA.

     (c) The controller shall not process personal data in violation of the laws of this state and

federal laws that prohibit unlawful discrimination against customers.

     (d) The controller shall provide the customer with a mechanism to grant and revoke consent

where consent is required. Upon receipt of revocation, the controller shall suspend the processing

of data as soon as is practicable. The controller shall have no longer than fifteen (15) days from

receipt to effectuate the revocation.

     6-48.1-5. Customer rights.

     (a) No controller shall discriminate against a customer for exercising their customer rights.

     (b) No controller shall deny goods or services, charge different prices or rates for goods or

services or provide a different level of quality of goods or services to the customer if the customer

does not consent to use of their data.

     (c) Controllers may provide different prices and levels for goods and services if it is for a

bona fide loyalty, rewards, premium features, discount or club card programs that customers

voluntarily participate.

     (d) A customer shall have the right to:

     (1) Confirm whether or not a controller is processing the customer's personal data and

access such personal data, unless such confirmation or access would require the controller to reveal

a trade secret;

     (2) Correct inaccuracies in the customer's personal data and delete personal data provided

by, or obtained about, the customer, taking into account the nature of the personal data and the

purposes of the processing of the consumer's personal data;

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     (3) Obtain a copy of the customer's personal data processed by the controller, in a portable

and, to the extent technically feasible, readily usable format that allows the customer to transmit

the data to another controller without undue delay, where the processing is carried out by automated

means; provided such controller shall not be required to reveal any trade secret; and

     (4) Opt out of the processing of the personal data for purposes of targeted advertising, the

sale of personal data, or profiling in furtherance of solely automated decisions that produce legal

or similarly significant effects concerning the customer.

     (e) A customer may exercise rights under this section by secure and reliable means

established by the controller and described to the customer in the controller's privacy notice. A

customer may designate an authorized agent to exercise the rights to opt out on their behalf. In the

case of processing personal data of a known child, the parent or legal guardian may exercise such

customer rights on the child's behalf. In the case of processing personal data concerning a customer

subject to a guardianship, conservatorship or other protective arrangement, the guardian or the

conservator of the customer may exercise such rights on the customer's behalf.

     6-48.1-6. Exercising customer rights.

     A controller shall comply with a request by a customer to exercise the customer rights

authorized as follows:

     (1) A controller shall respond to the customer without undue delay, but not later than forty-

five (45) days after receipt of the request. The controller may extend the response period by forty-

five (45) additional days when reasonably necessary, considering the complexity and number of

the customer's requests; provided the controller informs the customer of any such extension within

the initial forty-five (45) day response period and of the reason for the extension.

     (2) If a controller declines to act regarding the customer's request, the controller shall

inform the customer without undue delay, but not later than forty-five (45) days after receipt of the

request, of the justification for declining to act and instructions for how to appeal the decision.

     (3) Information provided in response to a customer request shall be provided by a

controller, free of charge, once per customer during any twelve (12) month period. If requests from

a customer are manifestly unfounded, excessive or repetitive, the controller may charge the

customer a reasonable fee to cover the administrative costs of complying with the request or decline

to act on the request. The controller bears the burden of demonstrating the manifestly unfounded,

excessive or repetitive nature of the request.

     (4) If a controller is unable to authenticate a request to exercise any of the rights afforded,

the controller shall not be required to comply with a request to initiate an action pursuant to this

section and shall provide notice to the customer that the controller is unable to authenticate the

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request to exercise such right or rights until such customer provides additional information

reasonably necessary to authenticate such customer and such customer's request to exercise such

right or rights. A controller shall not be required to authenticate an opt-out request, but may deny

an opt-out request if the controller has reasonable and documented belief that such request is

fraudulent. If a controller denies an opt-out request because the controller believes such request is

fraudulent, the controller shall send a notice to the person who made such request disclosing that

such controller believes such request is fraudulent, why such controller believes such request is

fraudulent and that such controller shall not comply with such request.

     (5) A controller that has obtained personal data about a customer from a source other than

the customer shall be deemed in compliance with a customer's request to delete such data by doing

the following:

     (i) Retaining a record of the deletion request and the minimum data necessary for the

purpose of ensuring the consumer’s personal data remains deleted from the controller’s records and

not using such retained data for any other purpose pursuant to the provisions of this chapter; or

     (ii) Opting the consumer out of the processing of such personal data for any purpose except

for those exempted pursuant to the provisions of this chapter.

     (6) A controller shall establish a process for a customer to appeal the controller's refusal to

take action on a request within a reasonable period of time after the customer's receipt of the

decision. The appeal process shall be clearly and conspicuously available. Not later than sixty (60)

days after receipt of an appeal, a controller shall inform the customer in writing of any action taken

or not taken in response to the appeal, including a written explanation of the reasons for the

decision. If the appeal is denied, the customer may submit a complaint to the attorney general.

     (7) A customer may designate another person to serve as the customer's authorized agent

and act on such customer's behalf, to opt out of the processing of such customer's personal data. A

controller shall comply with an opt-out request received from an authorized agent if the controller

is able to verify the identity of the customer and the authorized agent's authority to act on the

customer’s behalf.

     6-48.1-7. Controller and processor responsibilities.

     (a) A processor shall adhere to the instructions of a controller and shall assist the controller

in meeting the controller's obligations of this chapter.

     (b) A contract between a controller and a processor shall govern the processor's data

processing procedures with respect to processing performed on behalf of the controller. The

contract shall be binding and clearly set forth instructions for processing data, the nature and

purpose of processing, the type of data subject to processing, the duration of processing and the

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rights and obligations of both parties. The contract shall also require that the processor:

     (1) Ensure that each person processing personal data is subject to a duty of confidentiality

with respect to the data;

     (2) At the controller's direction, delete or return all personal data to the controller as

requested at the end of the provision of services, unless retention of the personal data is required

by law;

     (3) Upon the reasonable request of the controller, make available to the controller all

information in its possession necessary to demonstrate the processor's compliance with the

obligations of this chapter;

     (4) After providing the controller an opportunity to object, engage any subcontractor

pursuant to a written contract that requires the subcontractor to meet the obligations of the processor

with respect to the personal data; and

     (5) Allow, and cooperate with, reasonable assessments by the controller or the controller's

designated assessor, or the processor may arrange for a qualified and independent assessor to assess

the processor's policies and technical and organizational measures in support of the obligations of

this chapter, using an appropriate and accepted control standard of framework and assessment

procedure for such assessments. The processor shall provide a report of such assessment to the

controller upon request.

     (c) Nothing in this section shall be construed to relieve a controller or processor from the

liabilities imposed on the controller or processor by virtue of such controller's or processor's role

in the processing relationship. If a processor begins, alone or jointly with others, determining the

purposes and means of the processing of personal data, the processor is a controller with respect to

such processing and may be subject to an enforcement action under § 6-48.1-8.

     (d) A controller shall conduct and document a data protection assessment for each of the

controller's processing activities that presents a heightened risk of harm to a customer. For the

purposes of this section, processing that presents a heightened risk of harm to a customer includes:

     (1) The processing of personal data for the purposes of targeted advertising;

     (2) The sale of personal data;

     (3) The processing of personal data for the purposes of profiling, where such profiling

presents a reasonably foreseeable risk of unfair or deceptive treatment of, or unlawful disparate

impact on, customers, financial, physical or reputational injury to customers, a physical or other

intrusion upon the solitude or seclusion, or the private affairs or concerns, of customers, where such

intrusion would be offensive to a reasonable person, or other substantial injury to customers; and

     (4) The processing of sensitive data.

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     (e) The attorney general may require a controller to disclose any data protection assessment

that is relevant to an investigation conducted by the attorney general, and the controller shall make

the data protection assessment available. The attorney general may evaluate the data protection

assessment for compliance with responsibilities of this chapter. Data protection assessments shall

be confidential and shall be exempt from disclosure pursuant to chapter 2 of title 38 ("access to

public records"). To the extent any information contained in a data protection assessment disclosed

to the attorney general includes information subject to attorney-client privilege or work product

protection, such disclosure shall not constitute a waiver of such privilege or protection.

     (f) A single data protection assessment may address a comparable set of processing

operations that include similar activities.

     (g) If a controller conducts a data protection assessment for the purpose of complying with

another applicable law or regulation, the data protection assessment shall be deemed to satisfy the

requirements established in this section if such data protection assessment is reasonably similar in

scope and effect to the data protection assessment that would otherwise be conducted pursuant to

this section.

     (h) Data protection assessment requirements shall apply to processing activities created or

generated after January 1, 2025 and are not retroactive.

     (i) Any controller in possession of de-identified data shall:

     (1) Take reasonable measures to ensure that the data cannot be associated with an

individual;

     (2) Publicly commit to maintaining and using de-identified data without attempting to re-

identify the data; and

     (3) Contractually obligate any recipients of the de-identified data to comply with all

provisions of this chapter.

     (j) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to:

     (1) Require a controller or processor to re-identify de-identified data or pseudonymous

data; or

     (2) Maintain data in identifiable form, or collect, obtain, retain or access any data or

technology, in order to be capable of associating an authenticated consumer request with personal

data.

     (k) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to require a controller or processor to comply

with an authenticated consumer rights request if the controller:

     (1) Is not reasonably capable of associating the request with the personal data or it would

be unreasonably burdensome for the controller to associate the request with the personal data;

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     (2) Does not use the personal data to recognize or respond to the specific consumer who is

the subject of the personal data, or associate the personal data with the other personal data about

the same specific consumer; and

     (3) Does not sell the personal data to any third party or otherwise voluntarily disclose the

personal data to any third party other than a processor, except as otherwise permitted in this section.

     (l) The rights afforded under this section, and inclusive of § 6-48.1-5(e) shall not apply to

pseudonymous data in cases where the controller is able to demonstrate that any information

necessary to identify the consumer is kept separately and is subject to effective technical and

organizational controls that prevent the controller from accessing such information.

     (m) A controller that discloses pseudonymous data or de-identified data shall exercise

reasonable oversight to monitor compliance with any contractual commitments to which the

pseudonymous data or de-identified data is subject and shall take appropriate steps to address any

breaches of those contractual commitments.

     (n) This chapter shall not be construed to restrict a controller's or processor's ability to:

     (1) Comply with federal, state or municipal ordinances or regulations;

     (2) Comply with a civil, criminal or regulatory inquiry, investigation, subpoena or

summons by federal, state, municipal or other governmental authorities;

     (3) Cooperate with law enforcement agencies concerning conduct or activity that the

controller or processor reasonably and in good faith believes may violate federal, state or municipal

ordinances or regulations;

     (4) Investigate, establish, exercise, prepare for or defend legal claims;

     (5) Provide a product or service specifically requested by a customer;

     (6) Perform under a contract to which a customer is a party, including fulfilling the terms

of a written warranty;

     (7) Take steps at the request of a customer prior to entering into a contract;

     (8) Take immediate steps to protect an interest that is essential for the life or physical safety

of the customer or another individual, and where the processing cannot be manifestly based on

another legal basis;

     (9) Prevent, detect, protect against or respond to security incidents, identity theft, fraud,

harassment, malicious or deceptive activities or any illegal activity, preserve the integrity or

security of systems or investigate, report or prosecute those responsible for any such action;

     (10) Engage in public or peer-reviewed scientific or statistical research in the public interest

that adheres to all other applicable ethics and privacy laws and is approved, monitored and governed

by an institutional review board that determines, or similar independent oversight entities that

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determine, whether the deletion of the information is likely to provide substantial benefits that do

not exclusively accrue to the controller, the expected benefits of the research outweigh the privacy

risks, and whether the controller has implemented reasonable safeguards to mitigate privacy risks

associated with research, including any risks associated with re-identification;

     (11) Assist another controller, processor or third party with any of the obligations of this

chapter; or

     (12) Process personal data for reasons of public interest in the area of public health,

community health or population health, but solely to the extent that such processing is:

     (i) Subject to suitable and specific measures to safeguard the rights of the customer whose

personal data is being processed, and

     (ii) Under the responsibility of a professional subject to confidentiality obligations under

federal, state or local law.

     (o) The obligations imposed on controllers or processors shall not restrict a controller's or

processor's ability to collect, use or retain data for internal use to:

     (1) Conduct internal research to develop, improve or repair products, services or

technology;

     (2) Effectuate a product recall;

     (3) Identify and repair technical errors that impair existing or intended functionality; or

     (4) Perform internal operations that are reasonably aligned with the expectations of the

customer or reasonably anticipated based on the customer's existing relationship with the controller,

or are otherwise compatible with processing data in furtherance of the provision of a product or

service specifically requested by a customer or the performance of a contract to which the customer

is a party.

     (p) A controller or processor that discloses personal data to a processor or third-party

controller shall not be deemed to have violated this chapter if the processor or third-party controller

that receives and processes such personal data violates said sections; provided at the time the

disclosing controller or processor disclosed such personal data, the disclosing controller or

processor did not have actual knowledge that the receiving processor or third-party controller would

violate said sections. A third-party controller or processor receiving personal data from a controller

or processor in compliance with this chapter is likewise not in violation of said sections for the

transgressions of the controller or processor from which such third-party controller or processor

receives such personal data.

     (q) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to:

     (1) Impose any obligation on a controller or processor that adversely affects the rights or

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freedoms of any person, including, but not limited to, the rights of any person to freedom of speech

or freedom of the press guaranteed in the First Amendment to the United States Constitution; or

     (2) Apply to any person's processing of personal data in the course of such person's purely

personal or household activities.

     (r) Personal data processed by a controller pursuant to this section may be processed to the

extent that such processing is reasonably necessary and proportionate to the purposes in this

section; and adequate, relevant and limited to what is necessary in relation to the specific purposes

listed in this section. Personal data collected, used or retained shall, where applicable, consider the

nature and purpose or purposes of such collection, use or retention. Such data shall be subject to

reasonable administrative, technical and physical measures to protect the confidentiality, integrity

and accessibility of the personal data and to reduce reasonably foreseeable risks of harm to

customers relating to such collection, use or retention of personal data.

     (s) If a controller processes personal data pursuant to an exemption in this section, the

controller bears the burden of demonstrating that such processing qualifies for the exemption.

     (t) Processing personal data for the purposes expressly identified in this section shall not

solely make a legal entity a controller with respect to such processing.

     6-48.1-8. Violations.

     (a) A violation of this chapter constitutes a violation of the general regulatory provisions

of commercial law in title 6 and shall constitute a deceptive trade practice in violation of chapter

13.1 of title 6; provided, further, that in the event that any individual or entity intentionally discloses

personal data:

     (1) To a shell company or any entity that has been formed or established solely, or in part,

for the purposes of circumventing the intent of this chapter;

     (2) To any third party that is not exempt pursuant to § 6-48.1-3; or

     (3) In violation of any provision of this chapter, that individual or entity shall pay a fine of

not less than one hundred dollars ($100) and no more than five hundred dollars ($500) for each

such disclosure.

     (b) The attorney general shall have sole enforcement authority of the provisions of this

chapter and may enforce a violation of this chapter pursuant to:

     (1) The provisions of this section; or

     (2) General regulatory provisions of commercial law in title 6, or both.

     (c) Nothing in this section shall be construed to authorize any private right of action to

enforce any provision of this chapter, any regulation hereunder, or any other provisions of law.

     6-48.1-9. Waivers - Severability.

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     Any waiver of the provisions of this chapter shall be void and unenforceable. If any

provision of this chapter or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid by a court

of competent jurisdiction, the invalidity shall not affect other provisions of applications of the

chapter that can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the

provisions of the chapter are severable.

     6-48.1-10. Construction.

     (a) Nothing in this chapter shall be deemed to apply in any manner to a financial institution,

an affiliate of a financial institution, or data subject to Title V of the federal Gramm-Leach-Bliley

Act, 15 U.S.C. § 6801 et seq. and its implementing regulations, or to information or data subject to

the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) Pub. L. 104-191.

     (b) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to apply to a contractor, subcontractor, or

agent of a state agency or local unit of government when working for that state agency or local unit

of government.

     (c) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to apply to any entity recognized as a tax

exempt organization under the Internal Revenue Code.

     (d) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to mandate and/or require the retention or

disclosure of any specific individual's personally identifiable information.

     (e) Nothing in this chapter shall prohibit or restrict the dissemination or sale of product

sales summaries or statistical information or aggregate customer data which may include

personally, identifiable information.

     (f) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to apply to any personally identifiable

information or any other information collected, used, processed, or disclosed by or for a customer

reporting agency as defined by 15 U.S.C. § 1681a(f).

     SECTION 3. This act shall take effect on January 1, 2025.

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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N   A C T

RELATING TO COMMERCIAL LAW -- GENERAL REGULATORY PROVISIONS --

RHODE ISLAND DATA TRANSPARENCY AND PRIVACY PROTECTION ACT

***

     This act would create the Rhode Island Data Transparency and Privacy Protect Act for data

privacy protections for the personal data of the citizens of Rhode Island, requiring any person or

entity that processes personal data to identify all categories of information the controller collects,

when the controller may disclose such information, how a customer may exercise their consumer

rights, the purpose for processing the personal data, categories of personal data share with a third

party, and means to contact the controller. This act would further limit a controller to processing

personal data to what is adequate, relevant and reasonably necessary in relation to the purposes for

which the data is processed. A controller would be prohibited from processing sensitive data

without obtaining the customer's consent and prohibited from discriminating against a customer for

exercising their customer rights. Any violation of this act would constitute a violation of the general

regulatory provisions of commercial law and constitute a deceptive trade practice. A fine would be

imposed for each violation of not less than one hundred dollars ($100) and no more than five

hundred dollars ($500).

     This act would take effect on January 1, 2025.

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