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SB3017
THE SENATE
S.B. NO.
3017
THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026
STATE OF HAWAII
A BILL FOR AN ACT
relating
to privacy
.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
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SECTION 1.
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The
legislature finds that the unregulated and unfettered sale of mobile device
users' geolocation information, particularly data pertaining to sensitive
locations like reproductive health clinics, poses significant implications with
respect to the civil rights and liberties of residents and visitors to the
State.
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Additionally, these sales may
infringe upon citizens' right to an accessible, safe abortion by allowing
purchasers to surveil mobile device users' activities in relation to
reproductive health clinics.
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In August 2022, the Federal Trade
Commission sued a data broker corporation for the sale of hundreds of millions
of mobile device users' geolocation information, finding that these sales
identified and exposed individuals to dangers regarding discrimination, stigma,
job loss, and physical violence.
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Central
to their lawsuit are complaints about the role that geolocation information
sales could play in disclosing users' private medical decisions, especially
their protected use of abortion services.
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By tracking individuals' movements around reproductive health clinics,
the Federal Trade Commission alleges that data brokers put the identity and
safety of those seeking abortion services at risk.
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Additionally, the Federal Trade Commission
found that these sales could endanger those employed by reproductive health
clinics, including medical professionals, social workers, and administrative
staff.
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Nonconsensual sales of
geolocation information can divulge home addresses and daily routines by
monitoring users' physical movements, creating dangerous situations for
citizens that the legislature finds unacceptable.
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The legislature further finds that this is
especially problematic for citizens seeking or providing abortion care in the
State.
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The legislature believes that
these sales not only infringe on citizens' privacy rights, but also may inhibit
access to safe abortion care.
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The
legislature believes that the State's citizens should not be subject to such
violations of their civil rights and liberties.
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The legislature has determined that comprehensive regulatory action on
geolocation data is necessary to prevent the uncontrolled sale of geolocation
information.
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Accordingly, the purpose of this Act is to
prohibit the sale of:
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(1)
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Geolocation
information without consent;
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(2)
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Data
collected
through eavesdropping or through an
application operating in the background of a device that uses the device's
microphone; and
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(3)
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Internet
browser information without consent.
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SECTION 2.
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Chapter 481B, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding two new
sections to part I to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:
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481B-
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Sale of geolocation information without
consent or data collected through eavesdropping; prohibited.
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(a)
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No person, in any manner, or by any means, shall sell or offer for sale:
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(1)
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Geolocation
information that is recorded or collected through any means by a mobile device
or location-based application without the explicit consent of the individual
who is the primary user of the device or application; or
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(2)
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Data
that is recorded or collected through:
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(A)
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Eavesdropping; or
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(B)
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An application operating in the background of a device that uses
the device's microphone.
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(b)
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For the purposes of this section:
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"Consent"
means prior express opt-in authorization that may be revoked by the user at any
time.
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"Emergency"
means the imminent or actual occurrence of an event that is likely to cause
extensive injury, death, or property damage.
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"Geolocation
information" means information that is:
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(1)
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Not the contents of a communication;
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(2)
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Generated by or derived, in whole or
in part, from the operation of a mobile device, including but not limited to a
smart phone, tablet, fitness tracker, e‑reader, or laptop computer; and
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(3)
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Sufficient to determine or infer the
precise location of the user of the device.
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"Location-based
application" means a software application that is downloaded or installed
onto a device or accessed via a web browser that collects, uses, or stores
geolocation information.
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"Precise
location" means any data that locates a user within a geographic area that
is equal to or less than the area of a circle having a radius of one mile.
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"Sale"
means selling, renting, releasing, disclosing, disseminating, making available,
transferring, or otherwise communicating orally, in writing, or by electronic
or other means, a user's geolocation information to another business or a third
party for monetary or other valuable consideration.
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"Sale" does not include the
releasing, disclosing, disseminating, making available, transferring, or
otherwise communicating orally, in writing, or by electronic or other means, a
user's geolocation information for the purpose of responding to an emergency.
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"User"
means a person who purchases or leases a device or installs or uses an
application on a mobile device.
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�481B-
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Sale of internet browser information
without consent; prohibited.
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(a)
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No person, in any manner, or by any means,
shall sell or offer for sale internet browser information without the explicit
consent of the subscriber of the internet service.
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(b)
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For the purposes of this section:
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"Consent"
means prior express opt-in authorization that may be revoked by the subscriber
at any time.
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"Internet
browser information" means information from a person's use of the
Internet, including:
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(1)
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Web browsing history;
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(2)
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Application usage history;
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(3)
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The origin and destination internet
protocol addresses;
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(4)
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A device identifier, such as a media
access control address, international mobile equipment identity, or internet
protocol addresses; and
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(5)
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The content of the communications
comprising the internet activity.
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"Internet
service" means a retail service that provides the capability to transmit
data to and receive data through the Internet using a dial-up service, a
digital subscriber line, cable modem, fiber optics, wireless radio, satellite,
powerline, or other technology used for a similar purpose.
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"Sale"
means the selling, renting, releasing, disclosing, disseminating, making
available, transferring, or otherwise communicating orally, in writing, or by
electronic or other means, of internet browser information to another business
or a third party for monetary or other valuable consideration.
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"Subscriber"
means an applicant for or a current or former customer of an internet service.
"
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SECTION 3.
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New statutory material is underscored.
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SECTION 4.
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This Act shall take effect upon its approval.
INTRODUCED BY:
_____________________________
Report Title:
Privacy;
Geolocation Information; Eavesdropping; Internet Browser Information
Description:
Prohibits
the sale of geolocation information and internet browser information without
consent.
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Prohibits the sale of data
collected through eavesdropping or through an application operating in the
background of a device that uses the device's microphone.
The summary description
of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is
not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.