Key Point: A multistate coalition of 42 state AGs reached a landmark $150 million settlement with 23andMe over a 2023 data breach affecting 6.9 million customers, marking the largest AG multistate settlement involving consumer genetic data to date. This resolution signals heightened regulatory scrutiny of genetic data security practices and establishes a precedent for state enforcement authority in bankruptcy proceedings.
Key points: Troutman Pepper Locke’s Regulatory Investigations, Strategy + Enforcement (RISE) and Privacy + Cyber + AI practice groups worked with the firm’s innovation team using AI to collect and curate five years of data concerning state AG activities and actions related to privacy, security, and AI. This Regulatory Intelligence offering provides firm clients
On June 30, 2026, New Jersey enacted legislation A5328 (P.L.2026, c.25), which will expose a broad swath of U.S. companies to data broker registration fees ranging from $5,000 to $1.5 million annually. The new legislation is not limited to data brokers in the conventional sense. It applies generally to any company that sells or licenses personal data of New Jersey residents, including those with direct customer relationships. Much of the law takes effect immediately, so companies should begin reviewing the requirements now to comply.
Key point: Regulations proposed in June 2025 to implement the New Jersey Data Privacy Law expired on June 2, 2026, when the regulations were not adopted within a year of the proposal. The path forward for future rulemaking to implement the law is uncertain.
On May 26, 2026, a bipartisan coalition of 44 attorneys general (AGs) issued a letter opposing the federal Kids Internet and Digital Safety Act (KIDS Act), H.R. 7757. The AGs assert that the KIDS Act would preempt their ability to enforce child online safety laws at the state level.
Key point: In response to an open records request submitted by Troutman Pepper Locke, the New Jersey Attorney General’s office provided copies of all cure letters sent pursuant to New Jersey’s consumer data privacy law and resolved by the recipient.
As shown by recent enforcement actions in California, including its most recent $12.5 million fine, the risk for companies that are out of compliance with state consumer data privacy laws has never been higher. As more state laws go into effect and cure periods sunset, the risk will only grow. One state where the enforcement risk may be higher is New Jersey.
The New York Attorney General’s (AG) Office announced a $5 million settlement with Uphold HQ Inc. (Uphold), a cryptocurrency platform that allows users to buy, sell, and trade digital assets. The settlement resolves allegations that Uphold misleadingly promoted Cred Inc.’s now‑bankrupt investment product, CredEarn, to its customers as a safe, savings‑style vehicle.
On April 13, 2026, Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger signed SB338 into law, amending Virginia’s Consumer Data Protection Act (VCDPA) to prohibit controllers of personal data from selling consumers’ precise geolocation data. This ban, which takes effect on July 1, 2026, makes Virginia the third state in recent years to prohibit the sale of such data and reflects a trend that is likely to continue. Somewhat surprisingly, Virginia was the second state, behind California, to enact a comprehensive consumer privacy law and is continuing within that vein with this early expansion of privacy rights.
A federal court in Michigan significantly narrowed Michigan Attorney General (AG) Dana Nessel’s privacy and consumer protection case against Roku, Inc. (Roku) dismissing all non-Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) claims for lack of standing while allowing the state’s privacy claims under COPPA to proceed. The decision highlights COPPA’s utility as a vehicle for state AGs to bring enforcement actions in federal court, while also underscoring the jurisdictional limits on bringing companion state privacy and consumer protection claims in the same forum.