AG Jennings announces new data privacy rights available to Delawareans

Delaware Personal Data Privacy Act now effective

Attorney General Kathy Jennings announced today that important new personal data privacy rights are available to Delawareans thanks to the Delaware Personal Data Privacy Act. Passed in 2023, the new law went into effect at the beginning of this year - meaning Delawareans can now exercise their new data privacy rights.

"Thanks to this law, Delaware now leads the region on data privacy," said Attorney General Jennings. "Businesses collect Delawareans' personal data every day. Unfortunately, some businesses engage in deception or unfair practices by selling or sharing that data with other companies without consumers' knowledge. This law not only gives Delawareans new rights to control their data,but also gives my office important tools to enforce consumers' data privacy and security."

"With the Delaware Personal Data Privacy Act now in effect, Delawareans - and most importantly, our children - are armed with stronger privacy protections and more control over their online data," said Rep. Krista Griffith, lead sponsor of the Delaware Personal Data Privacy Act. "In today's digital world, these new safeguards are vital to ensuring that personal information is not exploited and that consumers' rights are upheld. I'm incredibly grateful for the work Attorney General Jennings and the Delaware Department of Justice do to ensure residents are protected both on and offline."

"Each day, hundreds of thousands of Delawareans click away on devices and generate tons of data as part of what has become our normal, daily lives. What also must become normal is a respect for our privacy and how we want our data to be used," said Sen. Bryan Townsend, Senate prime sponsor of the Delaware Personal Data Privacy Act. "I applaud Attorney General Jennings and her team for their commitment to personal liberties and public safety, and for their collaboration with legislators in crafting privacy laws that empower individual Delawareans to determine what kind of data usage works best for their families."

Some of the new consumer rights include:

• Opt-In: Businesses must obtain consent from Delaware consumers to use or share Delawareans' sensitive data, such as race or ethnic origin, religion, health conditions, sexual orientation, gender identity, precise location, or biometric data.
• Opt-Out: Consumers may opt-out of the sale of their personal information, targeted advertising, and some types of automated decision making.
• Access and Deletion: Upon request and subject to certain limitations, businesses must provide consumers with the personal data the business has collected about them and permit corrections or deletions of personal data.
• Non-Discrimination: Businesses are prohibited from using personal data to unlawfully discriminate against a Delaware consumer.

The law provides new privacy rights for children under the age of 18. Businesses must obtain consent to sell personal data or to use targeted advertising for children aged 13 to 17. For children under 13, businesses must obtain a parent's consent to use a child's personal data for any reason.

The Personal Data Privacy Act also requires businesses to post plain language disclosures of their data collection and data sharing practices and to provide information about how consumers can exercise data privacy rights. Consumers wishing to exercise or inquire about any of their data privacy rights should first contact the relevant business as posted in the business's required privacy notice.

The new law defines "personal data" as any data that is linked to a personal identifier like a name, address, phone number, email, or mobile device identifier.

Attorney General Jennings encourages all consumers, especially parents, to exercise these new rights to help protect their and their children's personal data. Consumers are encouraged to review privacy notices of businesses and review available resources to learn about protecting personal data.

The DOJ's Fraud & Consumer Protection Division is charged with enforcing the Personal Data Privacy Act. Delawareans who wish to find out more about their data privacy rights or submit a complaint about a business's data privacy practices can visit privacy.delaware.gov.

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