A bipartisan group of state lawmakers hopes to send privacy protection legislation to Gov. Rick Snyder’s desk this year.
Michigan is one of 16 states that have seen privacy protection legislation introduced this month. That’s as it’s become clear political gridlock in Washington will prevent any national legislation from moving in 2016.
State Rep. Jeremy Moss (D-Southfield) has introduced a bill that would make it harder for banks to sell customers’ personal information to third-party vendors.
“That’s when we get all of those unsolicited marketing in our mail, in our phones, in our e-mail that we didn’t sign up for,” said Moss.
He says the bill would require financial institutions to ask customers to opt in to selling their personal data. Right now, customers are only able to opt out.
Another proposal deals with license plate readers used by police officers. Right now, law enforcement can often hold onto that information indefinitely.
“What I’m concerned about is, over a period of time, what do they do with that data?” said state Rep. Sam Singh (D-East Lansing). “And what I want to do is after a reasonable amount of time – if it’s not needed for a criminal investigation – let’s delete all that data.”
