Bill > S0960

This bill establishes new protections for consumer data collected by motor vehicle dealers, defining "consumer data" as nonpublic personal information provided by a dealer to a licensee (such as a manufacturer or distributor) or a third party acting on their behalf, excluding data the licensee obtains from other sources. Licensees and their third parties must adhere to federal and state laws regarding the reuse or disclosure of this data and, upon a dealer's request, provide a list of all consumer data obtained and to whom it was disclosed within the past six months, with exceptions for service providers or parties previously consented to by the dealer. Furthermore, licensees cannot force dealers to grant them direct access to their "data management systems" (computer systems used to store and manage dealer information), though dealers can choose to share data through third-party vendors or in standard file formats, and licensees can only access dealer systems directly with separate, explicit written consent from the dealer, which can be withdrawn. The bill also mandates that licensees must compensate dealers for any damages or claims arising from the licensee's or their third parties' improper access, use, or disclosure of consumer data.