Vermont governor vetoes data privacy bill, saying state would be most hostile to businesses

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Vermont’s governor has vetoed a broad data privacy bill that would have been one of the strongest in the country to crack down on companies’ use of online personal data by letting consumers file civil lawsuits against companies that break certain privacy rules. Phil Scott said in his veto message late Thursday that the legislation would have made Vermont “a national outlier and more hostile than any other state to many businesses and non-profits." It also would have set meaningful limits on the amount of personal data that companies can collect and use, according to the nonprofit Electronic Privacy Information Center based in Washington, D.C. “The Vermont Data Privacy Act would have provided Vermonters with meaningful privacy rights that are lacking from other state laws, and would have rightly provided them with the opportunity to enforce those rights," Fitzgerald said in a statement.