New law gives Utahns the right to access and control personal data

Utah Department of Commerce building Photo: Utah Department of Commerce

SALT LAKE CITY – Under a new state law that went into effect this year, Utahns have the right and the ability to access and control their online personal data.

Under this new law, titled the Utah Consumer Privacy Act, individuals in Utah possess the entitlement to verify if a company is handling their personal information.

In the event of data processing by a business, Utahns are now entitled to both access and request the deletion of their data.

Additionally, people can now retain the option to acquire a copy of the information they previously supplied to the company.

Another essential entitlement for consumers in Utah is the right to opt out of companies’ selling their data and the utilization of their personal information for targeted advertising.

Consumers may exercise these rights by submitting a request to a business. The business then has 45 days to respond to the consumer’s request.

The recently enacted regulation pertains exclusively to controllers and processors engaged in business activities within the state of Utah or offering a product or service directed at residents of the state of Utah.

Controllers are defined by the state as persons who control how personal data is processed, and processors are defined as persons who actually process personal data on behalf of a business.

The recently enacted legislation is not universally applicable to all controllers and processors within the state. Instead, a company is subject to the law if it meets certain criteria, including having an annual revenue exceeding $25,000,000 and either managing or handling the personal data of 100,000 or more consumers in a calendar year or generating over 50% of its gross revenue from the sale of personal data while also managing or handling the personal data of 25,000 or more consumers.

In addition, all controllers and processors in the state must implement security practices to protect the confidentiality and integrity of a consumer’s personal data and reduce reasonably foreseeable risks of harm to consumers relating to the processing of their personal data.

The Utah Division of Consumer Protection’s website provides educational materials about the UCPA and a complaint form for consumers at https://dcp.utah.gov/ucpa/.