RELEASE: Montana Consumer Data Privacy Act goes into effect next week

PIRG tips guide advises Montanans how to use their new protections

CHICAGO – The Montana Consumer Data Privacy Act goes into effect on October 1st, 2024, giving Montana residents basic rights regarding how businesses collect, use, and sell their personal data. It also enables consumers to download a tool that automatically tells websites not to collect or sell their data. 

Over 80% of Americans are concerned with how companies collect and use their data. Montana is one of 19 states that has passed comprehensive consumer data privacy legislation to date. The U.S. currently has no comprehensive federal privacy law. 

“For years companies have used our favorite websites and apps to collect way more data about us than they need, and then sold our information to others,” said Ellen Hengesbach, associate with PIRG’s Don’t Sell My Data Campaign. “This data harvesting has been almost entirely legal for way too long. Montana’s law starts by giving you some more control over your information.”

The new law gives consumers the right to access, correct or delete data a company has collected on them – rights that can be difficult to fully exercise given the number of companies likely holding an individual’s information. More importantly, it gives consumers the ability to download a special tool – called a universal opt-out mechanism – that will automatically tell websites to not collect or sell new personal data, and makes it illegal for websites to ignore these requests. This provision was the subject of significant industry lobbying, but was ultimately included in the final law. 

Cutting down on data collection and sales boosts consumers’ personal security. The more data that companies collect, and the more other companies they sell it to, the more likely it is that consumers’ information will get exposed in a breach or a hack. Consumers are then more likely to become the victim of identity theft or hyper-targeted scams, for example if a con artist gets access to details about a person’s life, like their work address or names of family and friends. 

“While there is definitely more work to be done to curb excessive and dangerous data collection practices, the Montana Consumer Data Privacy Act is a step in the right direction,” said Hengesbach. “We look forward to Montana’s next effort to further protect consumers in their online lives.”