US privacy patchwork tightens
U.S. states keep layering new data-privacy laws that expand consumer rights, mandate detailed disclosures, and ramp up enforcement—regulators in 2026 are explicitly targeting mobile app data brokers and third-party analytics. The evolving patchwork increases compliance complexity for platforms that handle geolocation and user tracking. (smarsh.com)
Twenty states had comprehensive consumer privacy laws in effect entering 2026, expanding the list of jurisdictions companies that collect location data must map for compliance. (multistate.us) Hawaii’s Senate passed a March 2026 bill that would prohibit the sale of geolocation information and internet-browser information without consumer consent, directly limiting markets for raw mobile location feeds. (troutmanprivacy.com) Connecticut’s SB1356 (filed in 2025) would create a formal data-broker registration regime and tighten definitions of “sensitive data,” measures that would require brokers buying app-derived coordinates to register and disclose practices. (legiscan.com) The Federal Trade Commission issued final orders against Gravy Analytics and Mobilewalla in January 2025 after alleging unlawful collection and sale of precise geolocation data, orders that curtail how brokers package and sell visit-level location records. (ftc.gov) California Attorney General Rob Bonta launched an investigative sweep in March 2025, sending letters to advertising networks, mobile app providers, and data brokers to probe potential CCPA violations tied to location-tracking and resale. (oag.ca.gov) Eight state privacy regulators formed a bipartisan Consortium in April 2025 to coordinate implementation and enforcement across states, and several AG offices have been expanding technical hiring to support cross-jurisdiction investigations into app trackers and analytics vendors. (skadden.com) Multistate and federal inquiries that surfaced in late 2025 include probes specifically into the sale of location data from health and wellness apps, signaling enforcement attention on third‑party analytics and vertical-specific data flows. (news.ftcpublications.com)
