Read the full stored bill text
Wisconsin Legislature: SB166: Bill Text
Skip navigation
Home
Documents
Senate
Assembly
Committees
Service Agencies
Docs
Options
Help
2025 Biennium
Statutes
Admin. Rules
Indices
Miscellaneous
Archives
Home
Bill, Rule, and Appointment Histories
Senators
Representatives
Committees
Text of Introduced Proposals
Amendment Text
Acts
Veto Messages
Enrolled Bills
Votes
Assembly and Senate Floor Calendars
Schedule of Committee Activities
Assembly and Senate Journals
Committee Records (ROCPs)
Legislative Rules
All Session-Related Documents
Subject Index to Acts
Subject Index to Legislation
Subject Index to Journals
Author Index to Legislation
Subject Index to Clearinghouse Rules
Miscellaneous Budget Documents
Executive Orders
Rulings of the Chair
Wisconsin Supreme Court Rules
Opinions of the Attorney General
Town Law Forms
Law
Districts
Session
Drafting Files
Feeds
Preferences
Show tree
Hide tree
Feedback
Help
Home
Senate Home
Senators
Committees
Session
Chief Clerk
Sergeant at Arms
Civics Education
Human Resources
Assembly Home
Representatives
Committees
Session
Chief Clerk
Sergeant at Arms
Human Resources
Schedule
Joint
Senate
Assembly
Study
Legislative Audit Bureau
Legislative Council
Legislative Fiscal Bureau
Legislative Human Resources Office
Legislative Reference Bureau
Legislative Technology Services Bureau
Menu
»
2025
»
Related Documents
»
Proposal Text
»
SB166: Bill Text
Up
Up
2025 - 2026 LEGISLATURE
LRB-2468/1
MDE:cdc&emw
2025 SENATE BILL 166
March 27, 2025 - Introduced by Senators
Quinn
,
Nass
,
Roys
and
Marklein
, cosponsored by Representatives
Zimmerman
,
Sortwell
,
Allen
,
Armstrong
,
Behnke
,
Dittrich
,
Duchow
,
Goeben
,
Gustafson
,
Knodl
,
Kreibich
,
Krug
,
Kurtz
,
Maxey
,
Melotik
,
Murphy
,
Mursau
,
Nedweski
,
O'Connor
,
Penterman
,
Piwowarczyk
,
Pronschinske
,
Snyder
,
Steffen
,
Tittl
,
Tusler
,
Wittke
and
Moses
. Referred to Committee on Licensing, Regulatory Reform, State and Federal Affairs.
SB166,1,3
1
An Act
to repeal
100.80 (9) (b) 1.;
to renumber and amend
100.80 (9) (b) 2.;
2
to create
100.80 of the statutes;
relating to:
consumer data protection and
3
providing a penalty.
Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau
This bill establishes requirements for controllers and processors of the personal data of consumers. The bill defines a “controller” as a person that, alone or jointly with others, determines the purpose and means of processing personal data, and the bill applies to controllers that control or process the personal data of at least 100,000 consumers or that control or process the personal data of at least 25,000 consumers and derive over 50 percent of their gross revenue from the sale of personal data. Under the bill, “personal data” means any information that is linked or reasonably linkable to an individual except for publicly available information.
The bill provides consumers with the following rights regarding their personal data: 1) to confirm whether a controller is processing the consumer’s personal data and to access the personal data; 2) to correct inaccuracies in the consumer’s personal data; 3) to require a controller to delete personal data provided by or about the consumer; 4) to obtain a copy of the personal data that the consumer previously provided to the controller; and 5) to opt out of the processing of the consumer’s personal data for targeted advertising; the sale of the consumer’s personal data; and certain forms of automated processing of the consumer’s personal data. These rights are subject to certain exceptions specified in the bill. Controllers may not discriminate against a consumer for exercising rights under the bill, including by charging different prices for goods or providing a different level of quality of goods or services.
A controller must establish one or more secure and reliable means for consumers to submit a request to exercise their consumer rights under the bill. Such means must include a clear and conspicuous link on the controller’s website to a webpage that enables a consumer or an agent of a consumer to opt out of the targeted advertising or sale of the consumer’s personal data and, on or after July 1, 2028, an opt-out preference signal sent, with a consumer’s intent, by a platform, technology, or mechanism to the controller indicating the consumer’s intent to opt out of any processing of the consumer’s personal data for the purpose of targeted advertising or sale of the consumer’s personal data.
The bill requires controllers to respond to consumers’ requests to invoke rights under the bill without undue delay. If a controller declines to take action regarding a consumer’s request, the controller must inform the consumer of its justification without undue delay. The bill also requires that information provided in response to a consumer’s request be provided free of charge once annually per consumer. Controllers must also establish processes for consumers to appeal a refusal to take action on a consumer’s request. Within 60 days of receiving an appeal, a controller must inform the consumer in writing of any action taken or not taken in response to the appeal, including a written explanation of the reasons for its decisions. If the appeal is denied, the controller must provide the consumer with a method through which the consumer can contact the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection to submit a complaint.
Under the bill, a controller must provide consumers with a privacy notice that discloses the categories of personal data processed by the controller; the purpose of processing the personal data; the categories of third parties, if any, with whom the controller shares personal data; the categories of personal data that the controller shares with third parties; and information about how consumers may exercise their rights under the bill. Controllers may not collect or process personal data for purposes that are not relevant to or reasonably necessary for the purposes disclosed in the privacy notice. The bill’s requirements do not restrict a controller’s ability to collect, use, or retain data for conducting internal research, effectuating a product recall, identifying and repairing technical errors, or performing internal operations that are reasonably aligned with consumer expectations or reasonably anticipated on the basis of a consumer’s relationship with the controller.
Persons that process personal data on behalf of a controller must adhere to a contract between the controller and the processor, and such contracts must satisfy certain requirements specified in the bill. The bill also requires controllers to conduct data protection assessments related to certain activities, including processing personal data for targeted advertising, selling personal data, processing personal data for profiling purposes, and processing sensitive data, as defined in the bill. DATCP may request that a controller disclose a data protection assessment that is relevant to an investigation being conducted by DATCP.
DATCP and the Department of Justice have exclusive authority to enforce violations of the bill’s requirements. A controller or processor that violates the bill’s requirements is subject to a forfeiture of up to $10,000 per violation, and DATCP or DOJ may recover reasonable investigation and litigation expenses incurred. During the time between the bill’s effective date and July 1, 2031, before bringing an action to enforce the bill’s requirements, DATCP or DOJ must first provide a controller or processor with a written notice identifying the violations. If within 30 days of receiving the notice the controller or processor cures the violation and provides DATCP or DOJ with an express written statement that the violation is cured and that no such further violations will occur, then DATCP or DOJ may not bring an action against the controller or processor.
The bill also prohibits cities, villages, towns, and counties from enacting or enforcing ordinances that regulate the collection, processing, or sale of personal data.
For further information see the state fiscal estimate, which will be printed as an appendix to this bill.
The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do enact as follows:
SB166,1
1
Section
1
.
100.80 of the statutes is created to read:
SB166,2,2
2
100.80
Consumer data protection.
(1)
Definitions.
In this section:
SB166,2,9
3
(a) “Affiliate” means a legal entity that controls, is controlled by, or is under
4
common control with another legal entity or shares common branding with another
5
legal entity. For the purposes of this definition, “control” or “controlled” means
6
ownership of, or the power to vote, more than 50 percent of the outstanding shares
7
of any class of voting security of a company; control in any manner over the election
8
of a majority of the directors or of individuals exercising similar functions; or the
9
power to exercise controlling influence over the management of a company.
SB166,3,2
10
(b) “Authenticate” means verifying through reasonable means that the
11
consumer, entitled to exercise his or her consumer rights under sub. (2), is the same
1
consumer exercising such consumer rights, or is an individual with authority to
2
exercise such rights of a consumer, with respect to the personal data at issue.
SB166,3,10
3
(c) “Biometric data” means data generated by automatic measurements of an
4
individual’s biological characteristics, such as a fingerprint, voiceprint, eye retinas,
5
irises, or other unique biological patterns or characteristics that are used to identify
6
a specific individual. “Biometric data” does not include a physical or digital
7
photograph, a video or audio recording or data generated therefrom unless such
8
data is generated to identify a specific individual, or information collected, used, or
9
stored for health care treatment, payment, or operations under the federal Health
10
Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996.
SB166,3,11
11
(d) “Business associate” has the meaning given in
45 CFR 160.103
.
SB166,3,12
12
(e) “Child” means an individual younger than 13 years of age.
SB166,3,17
13
(f) “Consent” means a clear affirmative act signifying a consumer’s freely
14
given, specific, informed, and unambiguous agreement to process personal data
15
relating to the consumer. “Consent” may include a written statement, including a
16
statement written by electronic means, or any other unambiguous affirmative
17
action. “Consent” does not include any of the following:
SB166,3,20
18
1. Acceptance of a general terms-of-use document or similar document that
19
contains descriptions of personal data processing along with other, unrelated
20
information.
SB166,3,21
21
2. Hovering over, muting, pausing, or closing a given piece of content.
SB166,3,22
22
3. Agreements obtained by using dark patterns.
SB166,4,2
23
(g) “Consumer” means an individual who is a resident of this state acting only
1
in an individual or household context. “Consumer” does not include an individual
2
acting in a commercial or employment context.
SB166,4,4
3
(h) “Controller” means a person that, alone or jointly with others, determines
4
the purpose and means of processing personal data.
SB166,4,5
5
(i) “Covered entity” has the meaning given in
45 CFR 160.103
.
SB166,4,7
6
(ja) “Cures Act” means the federal 21st Century Cures Act and valid federal
7
regulations enacted pursuant to such provisions.
SB166,4,10
8
(jd) “Dark pattern” means a user interface designed or manipulated with the
9
substantial effect of subverting or impairing user autonomy, decision making, or
10
choice.
SB166,4,15
11
(jg) “Decisions that produce legal or similarly significant effects concerning a
12
consumer” means a decision made by the controller that results in the provision or
13
denial by the controller of financial and lending services, housing, insurance,
14
education enrollment, criminal justice, employment opportunities, health care
15
services, or access to basic necessities, such as food and water.
SB166,4,17
16
(ka) “Deidentified data” means data that cannot reasonably be linked to an
17
identified or identifiable individual, or a device linked to such person.
SB166,4,20
18
(kb) “Identified or identifiable individual” means a person who can be readily
19
identified, directly or indirectly, in particular by reference to an identifier such as a
20
name, an identification number, specific geolocation data, or an online identifier.
SB166,4,23
21
(La) “HIPAA” means the federal Health Insurance Portability and
22
Accountability Act and valid federal regulations enacted pursuant to the act,
23
including
45 CFR 164.500
to
164.534
.
SB166,5,3
1
(Lg) “HITECH” means the federal Health Information Technology for
2
Economic and Clinical Health Act and valid federal regulations enacted pursuant
3
to the act.
SB166,5,4
4
(m) “Institution of higher education” has the meaning given in s. 39.32 (1) (a).
SB166,5,7
5
(n) “Nonprofit organization” means any corporation organized under ch. 181,
6
any organization identified under s. 895.486 (2) (e), or any organization exempt
7
from taxation under section
501
(c) (3), (6), or (12) of the Internal Revenue Code.
SB166,5,10
8
(o) “Personal data” means any information that is linked or reasonably
9
linkable to an identified or identifiable individual. “Personal data” does not include
10
deidentified data or publicly available information.
SB166,5,16
11
(p) “Precise geolocation data” means information derived from technology,
12
including global positioning system level latitude and longitude coordinates or other
13
mechanisms, that directly identifies the specific location of an individual with
14
precision and accuracy within a radius of 1,750 feet. “Precise geolocation data” does
15
not include the content of communications or any data generated by or connected to
16
advanced utility metering infrastructure systems or equipment for use by a utility.
SB166,5,20
17
(q) “Process” or “processing” means any operation or set of operations
18
performed, whether by manual or automated means, on personal data or on sets of
19
personal data, such as the collection, use, storage, disclosure, analysis, deletion, or
20
modification of personal data.
SB166,5,22
21
(r) “Processor” means an individual or person that processes personal data on
22
behalf of a controller.
SB166,6,3
23
(s) “Profiling” means any form of automated processing performed on
1
personal data to evaluate, analyze, or predict personal aspects related to an
2
identified or identifiable individual’s economic situation, health, personal
3
preferences, interests, reliability, behavior, location, or movements.
SB166,6,8
4
(t) “Pseudonymous data” means personal data that cannot be attributed to a
5
specific individual without the use of additional information, provided that such
6
additional information is kept separately and is subject to appropriate technical
7
and organizational measures to ensure that the personal data is not attributed to
8
an identified or identifiable individual.
SB166,6,14
9
(u) “Publicly available information” means information that is lawfully made
10
available through federal, state, or local government records, or information that a
11
business has a reasonable basis to believe is lawfully made available to the general
12
public through widely distributed media, by the consumer, or by a person to whom
13
the consumer has disclosed the information, unless the consumer has restricted the
14
information to a specific audience.
SB166,6,17
15
(v) “Sale of personal data” means the exchange of personal data for monetary
16
or other valuable consideration by the controller to a 3rd party. “Sale of personal
17
data” does not include any of the following:
SB166,6,19
18
1. The disclosure of personal data to a processor that processes the personal
19
data on behalf of the controller.
SB166,6,21
20
2. The disclosure of personal data to a 3rd party for purposes of providing a
21
product or service requested by the consumer.
SB166,7,2
22
3. The disclosure of personal data based on the consumer directing the
1
controller to disclose the personal data or intentionally using the controller to
2
interact with a 3rd party.
SB166,7,3
3
4. The disclosure or transfer of personal data to an affiliate of the controller.
SB166,7,6
4
5. The disclosure of information that a consumer intentionally made available
5
to the general public via a channel of mass media and did not restrict to a specific
6
audience.
SB166,7,9
7
6. The disclosure or transfer of personal data to a 3rd party as an asset that is
8
part of a merger, acquisition, bankruptcy, or other transaction in which the 3rd
9
party assumes control of all or part of the controller’s assets.
SB166,7,10
10
(w) “Sensitive data” includes the following:
Down
Down
/2025/related/proposals/sb166
true
proposaltext
/2025/related/proposals/sb166
proposaltext/2025/REG/SB166
proposaltext/2025/REG/SB166
section
true
Menu
»
2025
»
Related Documents
»
Proposal Text
»
SB166: Bill Text
×
Details for
PDF view
Link
(Permanent link)
Bookmark this location
View toggle
Go to top of document
Search in this chapter
Search in this section
Search in this agency
Search in this chapter group
Search in this chapter
Search in this section
Cross references for section
Acts affecting this section
References to this
1970 Statutes Annotations
Appellate Court Citations
Administrative Code Index
Reference lines
Clear highlighting