New York Senate Bill S04270

New York 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 2/3/25
• Refer: 2/3/25
• Refer: 1/7/26

Caption

Relates to establishing the online consumer protection act; defines terms; provides that an advertising network shall post clear and conspicuous notice on the home page of its own website about its privacy policy and its data collection and use practices related to its advertising delivery activities; makes related provisions.

Summary

This bill would create the “Online Consumer Protection Act” by adding a new section to New York’s General Business Law governing online advertising and consumer data collection. It defines key terms such as “online preference marketing,” “personally identifiable information,” “publisher,” “consumer,” and “advertising network,” and then restricts how publishers and advertising networks may collect and use information for targeted advertising on the internet. Under the bill, publishers and advertising networks could not collect personally identifiable information for online preference marketing unless the consumer has consented. For other non-identifying information used for online marketing, the bill would require consumers to be given an opportunity to opt out. Advertising networks would also have to post clear and conspicuous privacy notices on their own websites, and publishers that contract with such networks would have to disclose the network’s data collection and use practices and the availability of opt-out rights. The bill further requires advertising networks to make reasonable efforts to protect collected data from loss, misuse, alteration, destruction, or improper access.

Impact

The bill would amend the General Business Law to impose new privacy and disclosure obligations on online publishers and advertising networks operating in New York. It would create enforceable limits on targeted advertising practices, require opt-in consent for collection of personally identifiable information for preference marketing, and establish opt-out rights for other collected information used for ad targeting. It also authorizes the Attorney General to seek injunctive relief and civil penalties of up to $250 per violation, with treble damages available for repeated patterns of violations, while preserving other legal remedies.

Sentiment

The bill’s findings and structure reflect a strong consumer-privacy orientation, emphasizing protection from tracking, price discrimination, and unauthorized data use. Based on the text alone, the measure appears intended as a common-sense privacy safeguard similar to a do-not-call registry for online tracking. No committee transcripts or votes were provided, so there is no recorded legislative debate or voting history to indicate broader support or opposition.

Contention

The main points of potential contention are the bill’s restrictions on targeted advertising and the compliance burdens it would place on publishers and advertising networks. Supporters are likely to favor the privacy protections, consent requirements, and transparency obligations, while opponents may argue that the bill could limit digital advertising practices, increase operational costs, and create enforcement exposure through Attorney General actions and per-violation penalties. The bill text also raises possible concerns about how broadly “personally identifiable information” and “online preference marketing” are defined, since those definitions determine the scope of the restrictions.