CIPP/US Study Guide
Chapter 5: Federal and State Regulators and Enforcement of Privacy Law

State Comprehensive Laws and Federal Sectoral Exemptions

By end of 2022, five states had comprehensive laws: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Utah, Virginia. They reference COPPA for children and exempt federal sectoral laws via entity-level or data-based exemptions (HIPAA, GLBA, FCRA, DPPA).

Five states had comprehensive privacy laws by the end of 2022: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Utah, and Virginia (detailed in Chapter 6). Their definition of personal information is broader than in breach-notification laws, covering data that can be associated or linked to an individual. Most reference COPPA for obtaining parental consent for children's data.

Entity-level vs data-based exemptions

Two exemption styles: an entity-level exemption excuses the whole entity subject to a federal law; a data-based exemption excuses only the data regulated by that law. Know which a state uses.

Federal sectoral exemptions in the five state comprehensive laws (by 2023)
Federal lawEntity-level exemptionData exemption
HIPAACT, UT, VA exempt HIPAA entitiesCA, CO, CT, UT, VA exempt HIPAA-regulated data
GLBACO, CT, UT, VA exempt GLBA entitiesCA, CO, CT, UT, VA exempt GLBA-regulated data
FCRAAll five exempt FCRA-covered entitiesAll five generally exempt FCRA-regulated data
DPPA-All five exempt data collected, processed, sold, or disclosed under the DPPA

Key terms - quick answers

What is “Entity-level exemption”?
A state comprehensive-law exemption that excuses an entire entity subject to a specific federal law from compliance.
What is “Data-based exemption”?
A state comprehensive-law exemption that excuses only the data regulated by a federal law, not the whole entity.
What is “DPPA”?
The Driver's Privacy Protection Act of 1994, barring state DMVs from releasing drivers' personal information without permission absent a permissible use.