Disruption

Immigration crackdown fuels push for location data privacy

Consumer Reports released a location data privacy model bill this week.
A man in handcuffs runs to avoid being detained by federal immigration agents on Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)

Lawmakers in more than a half dozen Democratic-led states are pushing to ban data brokers from selling people’s precise location data amid growing concern that it could be used to target vulnerable populations, including immigrants.

Bills have been filed or carried over from last year in California, Hawaii, Maine, Massachusetts, New Mexico, Vermont, Virginia and Washington, according to tracking by Consumer Reports.

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