The 5 U.S. State Privacy Laws You Need to Know Before January 2025

Starting in January 2025, five new state privacy laws—Delaware, Iowa, Nebraska, New Hampshire, and New Jersey—will take effect, bringing significant changes to data privacy practices. These laws will bring new consumer rights, stricter data protection requirements, and enhanced transparency for businesses. With the evolving privacy landscape, it’s critical for businesses to prepare for compliance to stay ahead of these changes. Here’s what you need to know about the upcoming regulations and how they’ll impact your operations.

• Delaware Personal Data Privacy Act (DPDPA): Effective January 1, 2025
• Iowa Consumer Data Protection Act (ICDPA): Effective January 1, 2025
• Nebraska Data Privacy Act (NDPA): Effective January 1, 2025
• New Hampshire Data Privacy Act (NH SB 255): Effective January 1, 2025
• New Jersey Data Privacy Act (NJ SB 322): Effective January 15, 2025

Understanding the Five State Laws | How to Get Ready: Steps to Ensure Compliance in 2025 | The Most Critical Laws to Focus On | Resourcing for 2025: How to Adapt to the New Privacy Landscape | Compliance Checklist for 2025 Privacy Laws

Understanding the Five State Laws

As state privacy regulations continue to evolve across the U.S, understanding the nuances of each law is essential. While they all aim to enhance privacy and consumer protection, they each have unique features that make them stand out. Let’s dive into what sets these laws apart and how they will affect your business.

Delaware Personal Data Privacy Act (DPDPA)

Delaware’s law is notable for its lack of exemptions for nonprofit organizations and educational institutions, making it one of the few state laws that applies to all types of entities, with some limited exceptions for data related to victims of sensitive crimes. DPDPA also establishes a new privacy right by requiring businesses to disclose the categories of third parties to whom they have shared a consumer’s personal data in response to a data subject request (DSR). This third-party disclosure requirement is a distinct addition to Delaware’s Data Subject Rights and mirrors Oregon’s law but is less stringent, as it focuses on categories rather than specific entities. Joining Colorado and five other active laws, the DPDPA also requires businesses to provide a universal opt-out option for consumers, effective 2026, allowing them to manage their data preferences across platforms. 

Iowa Consumer Data Protection Act (ICDPA)

Iowa’s law is unique in that it does not include certain consumer rights, such as the right to correct data or opt out of targeted advertising and profiling. This makes Iowa’s law less expansive compared to other states, focusing primarily on providing consumers the right to access and delete their data. The law also stands out due to its high thresholds for applicability based on the volume of data processed and the revenue derived from data sales. Despite its narrower focus, it still mandates businesses to offer an opt-out mechanism for data sales.

Nebraska Data Privacy Act (NDPA)

Nebraska’s law mandates a universal opt-out mechanism, allowing consumers to opt out of data sales and targeted advertising, much like California’s law. What sets Nebraska’s law apart is its inclusion of dark patterns, making it illegal for businesses to manipulate users into giving up personal data through deceptive practices. It also requires businesses to assess high-risk activities, such as profiling and targeted ads, ensuring that consumers have control over their personal data. This law makes it critical for businesses to improve transparency and consumer rights practices.

New Hampshire Senate Bill 255

New Hampshire’s privacy law was amended in August to remove the requirement for the Secretary of State to create rules for privacy policies and consumer rights, leaving businesses to comply directly without waiting for state guidance. Unlike many other state privacy laws, New Hampshire’s law does not include a revenue threshold, which means it applies to a wider range of businesses, including smaller ones. This unique feature could significantly impact businesses, even though the state has a relatively small population. The broader applicability ensures that New Hampshire’s law has a far-reaching influence compared to laws in states with stricter revenue-based criteria.

New Jersey Senate Bill 332

New Jersey isn’t the first state to require data protection assessments prior to processing sensitive data, but their definition of sensitive data is notably broader than most. Organizations with access to financial data that may have been able to disregard this component for other states will now need to begin completing data protection assessments. Moreover, the law requires businesses to cease processing personal data within just 15 days of a consumer withdrawing consent—a significant reduction from the 30- to 45-day timelines seen in other privacy laws. This shorter timeframe underscores New Jersey’s commitment to swift consumer control over personal data. The law also mandates compliance with universal opt-out mechanisms starting in 2025.

How to Get Ready: Steps to Ensure Compliance in 2025

With five laws coming into effect, businesses need to prioritize certain compliance tasks. Here’s your roadmap to prepare for the January 2025 deadline.

1. Privacy Notices

Every state law now mandates updated privacy notices that outline data collection practices, rights, and third-party sharing. This is the first area businesses should address, as it’s the cornerstone of transparency. Make sure your privacy policy is updated and reflects the specific requirements of each state, especially regarding data sales and opt-out provisions.

2. Consumer Rights Management

Ensure that systems are in place to handle consumer requests for data access, deletion, and correction. Delaware and New Jersey’s laws, in particular, introduce stringent requirements around consumer rights, while others, like Iowa, may have more limited obligations. 

3. Data Protection Assessments

States like Delaware and New Jersey are requiring businesses to conduct data protection assessments for high-risk processing activities, such as profiling and targeted ads. These assessments help identify potential privacy risks and ensure that businesses comply with the law’s requirements.

4. Universal Opt-Out Mechanisms

Nebraska’s law, along with others like California, requires businesses to honor global privacy controls. This will need technical adjustments, and businesses should start building or enhancing these tools now. If your company leverages DataGrail Consent, you are already compliant with universal opt-out mechanisms. 

The Most Critical Laws to Focus On

While all five laws are important, certain states will have a more significant impact on your business. Here’s a breakdown of which ones deserve your immediate attention:

Delaware

Delaware is significant due to its broad scope, applying to nonprofits and educational institutions without exemptions. These sectors, which have often been excluded in other state privacy laws, should pay close attention to the DPDPA’s requirements. The law emphasizes transparency and consumer rights, which will likely impact operations in a major way.

New Jersey

New Jersey also deserves careful consideration due to its comprehensive nature and the requirement for proactive data protection assessments. With the state defining sensitive data (like financial information) more strictly, businesses must be ready to meet these higher standards. Also, New Jersey’s law does not exempt nonprofits or higher education institutions. 

Iowa and Nebraska

Iowa and Nebraska, while narrower in scope, still impose essential obligations such as the right to opt out and data access. These are easier to navigate but should not be overlooked, especially as businesses may be required to implement additional consumer-facing mechanisms.

Resourcing for 2025: How to Adapt to the New Privacy Landscape

To effectively comply with these laws, it’s crucial for businesses to consider how to resource privacy teams to stay compliant and handle the growing demands of privacy regulations. Here are a few strategies to consider:

1. Cross-Department Collaboration:
   • These laws will require close cooperation between legal, IT, marketing, and customer service teams to handle consumer rights requests, privacy assessments, and transparency requirements. Establishing clear communication channels across departments will be essential for ensuring smooth compliance and handling the variety of data requests that will arise. Watch this DataGrail Summit session with Kirsten Daru, CPO at Netgear, to learn how Privacy and Risk Councils foster alignment and elevate privacy initiatives.
2. Dedicated Compliance Resources:
   • Given the complexity and scale of the new laws, a strategic approach to compliance is essential. Businesses can group similar laws based on their characteristics. For example, one team member may focus on laws like California’s CCPA, Delaware’s DPDPA, and New Jersey’s SB 332, which share consumer rights and opt-out mechanisms. Another team member may focus on laws that share common features with GDPR, such as sensitivity to data protection assessments. It may also involve hiring external consultants to help with legal interpretations and technical adjustments. 
3. Investing in Privacy Technology:
   • The laws will require enhanced privacy management tools to handle consumer rights requests, data protection assessments, and data processing disclosures. Companies should consider investing in Consent Management Platforms (CMPs), Data Subject Request (DSR) systems, and other tools that can automate and streamline privacy compliance processes. 
4. Privacy Impact Assessments (PIAs):
   • New Jersey and Delaware are particularly focused on data protection assessments for high-risk activities. Businesses should establish processes to conduct PIAs and ensure they’re part of the privacy compliance routine. This might require additional staffing or external consultants to manage these assessments and report on findings. DataGrail was named a sample vendor for PIAs in the 2024 Gartner Hype Cycle for Privacy, so rest assured that we’re here to support your organization with comprehensive privacy impact assessments.
5. Increased Focus on Training:
   • A major component of adapting to these new laws will be making sure your team is trained and ready to handle the evolving requirements. Invest in targeted training for key teams—legal, marketing, customer service, and IT—focusing on their specific responsibilities. This will ensure alignment on data rights, consent management, and handling consumer requests effectively.
6. Monitoring Legal and Regulatory Updates:
   • As these laws evolve, businesses need to monitor new regulations and enforcement actions. Setting up a dedicated resource or outsourcing this responsibility can help keep your team up-to-date with any changes or interpretations of the laws.

Entering 2025 as a DataGrail Customer

If you leverage DataGrail Request Manager and/or DataGrail Consent, rest assured that your policies will automatically be updated to provision appropriate data subject rights and/or consent tracking in each region. If you are exempt from one or more of these policies and would prefer it not activated for your account or you prefer to go above and beyond the requirements of each specific regulation (e.g. provision data correction rights in Iowa, though not legally required), please contact [email protected] to customize your active policies.

Compliance Checklist for 2025 Privacy Laws

Here’s a quick checklist to guide your compliance efforts as you prepare for the new privacy laws:

•  Update Privacy Notices for each state law, ensuring transparency and compliance with data sales and opt-out provisions.
•  Implement Consumer Rights Systems to handle DSRs for data access, deletion, and correction. Make sure your processes comply with each state’s requirements for consumer rights. 
•  Conduct Data Protection Assessments for high-risk activities, especially when processing personal data of residents in Delaware and New Jersey, as these states require assessments based on the number of data subjects within their jurisdiction..
•  Build or Enhance Opt-Out Mechanisms for data sales and targeted advertising, particularly for Nebraska’s law.
•  Monitor Evolving Regulations in New Hampshire, as the rules for privacy notices may shift based on state agency decisions.

By tackling these tasks early, you can ensure that your business is prepared for the changes in 2025 and beyond.

To help you get ahead, we invite you to join our How January’s 5 New Privacy Laws Will Change Data Privacy in 2025 webinar on December 10th. Our panel of privacy experts will share insights on what you need to know about these new laws, along with proven strategies for staying compliant as data privacy regulations continue to evolve.