Landmark data privacy law goes into effect July 31

One of the strongest data protection laws in the country will go into effect on July 31. 

The Minnesota Consumer Data Privacy Act creates new protections for the personal data of Minnesotans, which includes anything from a person’s name to their search history. 

Under the law, Minnesotans will have a right to know what data a business has collected and a list of any third parties that their data has been sold to. Consumers can edit inaccuracies in collected data, ask a business to delete information and opt-out of a business selling or using targeted advertising with the data. Parental permission is required for businesses to sell or use data for advertising to children under 16. 

“We cannot and should not just think that violations and invasions of our privacy are just the way it is in this modern time. We have a right to our privacy, and we have to protect it,” Attorney General Keith Ellison said at a press conference.  

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The law is expected to crack down on data brokers that store and sell personal information. Small businesses are exempt.

Rep. Steve Elkins, DFL-Bloomington, authored the bill. He said he has been working on data privacy legislation since 2019, his first year in office. The bill received bipartisan support in committee and was signed into law in May 2024. As the 19th state to pass a data protection law, Minnesota took inspiration from many other states’ versions. 

The law protects against what’s called data profiling and automated decision making. Minnesotans can now opt-out of profiling — the use of personal data to evaluate or predict someone’s behavior — when it comes to significant issues like housing or employment. 

The Attorney General’s Office will be hiring attorneys and an investigator to enforce the law. A new website – privacymn.com – will provide information on the new protections to consumers and businesses. Consumers can file complaints with Ellison’s office to aid enforcement.  

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Editor’s note: This story was written by Izzy Wagener and first appeared in the Minnesota Reformer on July 28. Wagener is a summer 2025 reporting and photo intern at the Reformer. She is a student at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and a Harry S. Truman Scholar.

The Minnesota Reformer is an independent, nonprofit news organization dedicated to keeping Minnesotans informed and uncovering stories other outlets can’t or won’t report. It is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501(c)(3) public charity.