The Seattle Times reports on Seattle’s new draft privacy act which is due to get enacted in early 2021. Ironically, it seems state senator Reuven Carlyle, D-Seattle, who is championing the bill prefers the bill not to include a private right of action:
Washingtonians shouldn’t have to hire lawyers to enforce privacy violations when they’re already paying for a state law firm, the Attorney General’s Office, that’s supposed to protect consumers.
Carlyle’s proposal finds the right balance by increasing the Attorney General’s authority and directing civil penalties to a fund covering enforcement costs. It rightly precludes a private right of action, preventing the law from being exploited, weaponized and clogging courts.
On the other hand, the state’s Attorney General Bob Ferguson prefers to include it:
Ferguson insisted on a private right of action when Carlyle introduced the bill last session; it passed the Senate 46-1 but didn’t pass the House.
