On Thursday, February 10, the House Commerce Committee passed data privacy legislation unanimously, despite concerns from the business community on the potential impact to businesses. In a letter in advance to the committee and in public testimony, the Florida Chamber shared concerns about the scope of the current bill, the cost of compliance, and the use of a private right of action as an enforcement mechanism while pledging to continue working with the sponsor and stakeholders to improve the bill. The biggest concern is the private right of action if a business fails to correct, delete, or stop selling personal information. Florida’s broken legal climate is already hurting consumers and local businesses, and this bill could create a new cottage industry of plaintiff attorneys exacerbating this law. This, combined with the inability to cure accidental noncompliance, and a one-way attorney fee statute, means this could create the next litigation wave for Florida businesses already dealing with our bottom-5 legal climate. The Florida Chamber also spoke to the cost of compliance and concerns that this bill captures a wider net of companies than “big tech.”

The West Orange Chamber of Commerce is closely watching this wide-sweeping data privacy legislation that would impose onerous and costly mandates on private businesses and that would cast an unnecessarily wide net that would harm small businesses that drive Florida’s economy.

Click here to learn more about the West Orange Chamber’s 2022 Legislative Priorities