For the second time this week, the state Senate spent hours discussing complicated technology legislation, with lawmakers once again advancing a bill over strong objections that regulating rapidly changing technology could negatively affect local businesses. 

In a 31-4 vote, the Senate passed S.B. 4, wide-ranging data privacy legislation that establishes restrictions on how data brokers can use consumer information, while also giving consumers the ability to pull personal information off the internet and granting protections over individual biological and genetic data. 

The bill’s supporters say the legislation is needed to protect residents from a variety of online threats, including scammers and other malicious actors. 

“We want to give people the ability, if they choose, to delete their information from data brokers so it cannot be used,” said Sen. James Maroney, D-Milford, co-chair of the General Law Committee and the lead author of S.B. 4. 

The bill builds off the Connecticut Data Privacy Act, a 2023 law that outlines consumer data rights and the responsibilities of groups that collect online data. Connecticut was the fifth state in the country to pass such comprehensive privacy law, a growing area of state policymaking amid stalled federal efforts to set policy around data privacy and consumer protection.

S.B. 4 largely focuses on new regulations for data brokers, defined in the bill as a “business that sells or licenses brokered personal data to another person.”

In addition to creating a registry for these brokers, and implementing new mandatory fees for the registry, the bill also charges the state Department of Consumer Protection with creating a deletion mechanism that would let people remove their personal data from broker databases and websites. The bill also contains regulations on the uses of geolocation data, facial recognition technology and surveillance pricing tools. 

The legislation was inspired by proposals that have emerged in other states, most notably California’s Delete Act, a new law that allows consumers to request that data brokers delete their personal data. Brokers will be required to comply with that law starting in August.  

The data privacy bill has been positioned as part of a broader effort to “protect, promote, and empower” residents in the state. Maroney framed the provisions in the bill as a key tool to protect residents by giving them more control over their data.

Thursday’s debate and vote on S.B. 4 came just two days after senators engaged in a lengthy debate over comprehensive artificial intelligence legislation. That legislation, Senate Bill 5, passed 32-4, after hours of debate.

A complicated proposal

S.B. 4, much like S.B. 5, was a patchwork of other pieces of legislation proposed and heard this session, including House Bill 5128.

And much like earlier in the week, the debate among lawmakers Thursday focused heavily on the potential outcomes for businesses in the state. Opponents said new regulation would place burdens on small businesses and hamper innovation efforts in the state.

“We now, through this session, in the past week, have done a double whammy on Connecticut businesses,” said Sen. Tony Hwang, R-Fairfield. 

The data privacy legislation has been controversial, with technology policy groups like the Computer & Communications Industry Association arguing in written testimony that the legislation “would place Connecticut businesses at a competitive disadvantage without meaningfully improving consumer privacy.”

Others said the legislation, particularly the provisions allowing people to request their information be deleted, could limit businesses’ ability to collect information about potential consumers — a shift that could impact marketing efforts and risk detection.

“While trying to protect individuals, we have to make sure that, inadvertently, we’re not hurting an industry or restricting what else they may be able to do,” said Sen. Paul Cicarella, R-North Haven, the ranking member on the General Law Committee. 

Business groups like the Connecticut Business and Industry Association also argued that some definitions within the bill, including terms like “data broker” and “data service provider”, were too broad, potentially exposing unsuspecting businesses that collect consumer data to the new regulation. 

Several critics said the legislation introduces too many unknowns, adding that with the artificial intelligence legislation also under consideration, Connecticut is moving towards regulations that could frighten companies looking to grow in the state. 

“We may have every bit of intention of consumer privacy and protection, but we’re not understanding on a greater national and international scope where technology is impacting businesses,” Hwang said. “We are creating unintended consequences that will drive businesses out of the state of Connecticut.” 

Maroney addressed some of those concerns during debate Thursday, strongly defending his work on the bill. He noted that the proposed legislation has had several revisions and has been altered to address concerns raised earlier in the session.

“We are balancing the interests of industry and consumers,” Maroney said, adding that his focus with the legislation has been on defending the rights of residents in the state. “We are elected by consumers to represent them and their interests.”

With privacy bill, CT legislators look to complete broader tech policy package

Data privacy regulation has become a pressing issue nationally as artificial intelligence and other related technologies expand, raising questions of how consumer information will be affected. 

After years of failing to pass a federal data privacy framework, some lawmakers are trying anew. On Wednesday legislators in Congress announced the SECURE Data Act, and the GUARD Financial Data Act, bills that would allow consumers to delete their personal data and opt out of targeted marketing. 

The proposals aim to preempt state data and consumer privacy laws, which have spread considerably as states have attempted to introduce guardrails. In 2025, 49 states considered consumer privacy legislation, introducing more than 800 bills, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Some 100 laws were enacted in 30 states last year. 

One of the most prominent areas where state legislation has focused is on facial recognition technologies, AI-assisted tools that are used to identify specific people and then verify their identities. Lawmakers in Connecticut have wrestled with how exactly to regulate the issue, particularly in the wake of reports that grocery stores in the state were using facial recognition technology to track shopper activity.

Earlier this year, lawmakers told the Connecticut Mirror that the topic was a high priority, with Maroney and Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff, D-Norwalk, initially planning to introduce a ban on facial recognition software in the state.  

But as the session continued, that goal shifted, with lawmakers opting to regulate facial recognition software use rather than ban it outright. The additional data privacy provisions in the rest of the bill, Maroney said Thursday, will help give state residents more control over their data. 

The bill’s proponents countered that the changes provide necessary clarity. “There is so much in this bill that is important for consumers and constituents,” said Sen. Sujata Gadkar-Wilcox, D-Trumbull. 

Supporters also said the bill is a key piece of legislation this year, with Maroney and Duff both speaking of the dangers created by so much personal information being available online. Earlier in the debate, Maroney cited the 2025 killing of Minnesota lawmaker Rep. Melissa Hortman, who was fatally shot alongside her husband while at home. Investigations into the killings found that the alleged shooter used online information compiled by data brokers to find Hortman’s home address. 

As debate came to a close Thursday afternoon, Duff said the legislation will send a powerful signal both in Connecticut and nationally. “This is a critical bill in our democracy agenda this session, one which I believe is going to be modeled across the country,” he said.  

Senate Bill 4 now goes to the House for consideration.