New Hampshire AG Creates Unit to Enforce State’s Consumer Privacy Bill

On August 15, 2024, New Hampshire’s Attorney General, John M. Formella announced that a new Data Privacy Unit, known as “the Unit,” was created. The Unit’s primary task will be ensuring compliance with the New Hampshire Consumer Privacy Bill (NHCPB), which will take effect on January 1, 2025.

The Unit, which will operate under the Consumer Protection and Antitrust Bureau, will focus on enforcing the provisions of the New Hampshire Consumer Privacy Bill, which aims to provide New Hampshire residents with greater control over their personal data and consumer rights, such as confirming whether businesses are processing their personal data, correcting inaccuracies, requesting deletion of their data, and obtaining data in a portable format. 

Additionally, consumers will be able to opt out of the processing of their personal data for targeted advertising, sales, or profiling purposes.

In the official press release, AG Formella made the following statement: 

Ensuring accountability, transparency, and consumer choice regarding how companies handle and monetize the personal data of their customers is a priority of my office [...]. For too long companies have earned unfathomable profits by harvesting the personal data of its users without providing a meaningful opportunity for consumers to make informed choices about how their data is or is not used.  We thank the Governor and Legislature for providing us with these additional resources and we look forward to putting these new enforcement capabilities to work to protect the personal data of New Hampshire consumers. 

In addition to enforcing compliance with the New Hampshire Consumer Privacy Bill, the Unit will also develop a series of FAQs in the upcoming months to help consumers and businesses understand their rights and obligations under the state’s new consumer privacy law.

The New Hampshire Consumer Privacy Bill mandates hefty fines for non-compliance, with the Attorney General having the authority to seek civil penalties of up to $10,000 per violation. In cases where there is evidence of willful non-compliance, criminal penalties may also be pursued, with fines reaching up to $100,000 per violation.