Source: CT Mirror

In Connecticut on May 4, 2026, the House of Representatives voted 141-6 to pass Senate Bill 4, a consumer data privacy measure that advances restrictions on data brokers and expands consumer control over personal information. The bill, sent to the governor’s desk, defines data brokers as businesses that sell or license brokered personal data, creates a registry for such brokers with mandatory fees, and tasks the state Department of Consumer Protection with a deletion mechanism to allow individuals to remove their personal data from broker databases and websites. The measure also extends protections specifically to genetic and personal data, limits uses of geolocation data and facial recognition technology, and addresses surveillance pricing tools used to set individualized prices.

SB 4 builds on Connecticut’s earlier Data Privacy Act and passed the Senate 31-4 before the House vote, having been marked a legislative priority alongside an AI bill (Senate Bill 5). The bill’s lead author and co-chairs of the AI Caucus, including Sen. James Maroney and Rep. Hubert Delany, framed SB 4 as part of a broader technology policy agenda; the text notes the AI Caucus formed in 2025. The proposal intentionally targets entities that buy and sell personal data rather than broadly applying new restrictions, a choice proponents say protects small businesses, health care and financial entities, while some national and local technology and business groups previously warned regulation could harm marketing and risk-detection functions; amendments were made to address those concerns and the bill is expected to be signed by the governor.