Washington State Senator Reuven Carlyle announced, on 9 September 2020, on Twitter, that the draft bill for the Washington Privacy Act 2021 ('the Bill') is now avaliable for public comment and feedback. In particular, the Bill will apply to legal entities that conduct business targeted to Washington residents and control or process personal data of more than 100,000 consumers during a calendar year or derive over 25% of gross revenue from the sale of personal data and process or control the personal data of over 25,000 consumers. In addition, the Bill covers private sector management of consumer personal data and both private and public sector management of data processed for a public health emergency. Moreover, the Bill would establish consumer rights such as access, correction, deletion, and data portability, as well as controller responsibilties relating to transparency, sensitive data, and data minimisation, among other things.

You can access the tweet here, read the Bill here, and read the overview of the Bill here.

UPDATE (1 October 2020)

NAI submits comments alongside other advertising groups

The Network Advertising Initiative ('NAI') sent, on 30 September 2020, alongside other advertising groups, a letter to U.S. Senator Reuven Carlyle, regarding their comments on the Bill, noting, among other things, that they agree that enforcement should remain with the Attorney General and that a private right of action would have a 'chilling effect on the state's economy by creating the threat of steep penalties for companies that are good actors but inadvertently fail to conform to technical provisions of law.' In addition, the groups note that the Bill 'contains an intent provision that could encourage intermediary interference in consumer privacy choices,' which they 'strongly advise against including any mandate for controllers to honor controls set through intermediaries.'

You can read the letter here.