Industry - Policy Change
Executive Summary
Louisiana has enacted a comprehensive consumer privacy law that will take effect on January 1, 2027, joining over twenty states with similar frameworks. The Louisiana Data Privacy Act applies to businesses with annual revenues exceeding $25 million or those processing large volumes of consumer data, granting Louisiana residents rights over their personal information with enforcement handled by the state attorney general. The law excludes certain entities like state agencies, HIPAA-covered hea...
What Happened
On July 18, 2026, Louisiana's governor signed Senate Bill 386, enacting the Louisiana Data Privacy Act, which will take effect on January 1, 2027. This makes Louisiana one of more than twenty states to adopt a comprehensive consumer privacy law. The law establishes a controller/processor framework and grants Louisiana residents rights over their personal data, with enforcement authority granted exclusively to the state attorney general.
Who Is Affected
The law protects Louisiana residents acting in an individual or household capacity, excluding individuals in commercial or employment contexts. It applies to businesses doing business in Louisiana that meet specific thresholds: annual revenues exceeding $25 million, processing data from 75,000 or more consumers/households/devices annually, or deriving 50% or more of revenue from selling consumer information. State agencies, HIPAA-covered entities, certain financial institutions, nonprofits, and higher education institutions are exempt.
Why It Matters
Louisiana's law represents continued momentum toward state-level privacy regulation in the absence of federal legislation, adding to a patchwork of over twenty state frameworks that businesses must navigate. The inclusion of revenue-based thresholds similar to California's approach, rather than solely volume-based triggers, broadens the scope to capture larger businesses regardless of data processing scale. This creates compliance complexity for multi-state operations while extending baseline privacy protections to millions of Louisiana residents starting in 2027.
What You Should Do
Louisiana residents should prepare to exercise new data rights beginning January 1, 2027, including the ability to access, correct, and delete personal information held by covered businesses. Parents and legal guardians can exercise these rights on behalf of children. If you believe a business has violated your rights under this law after it takes effect, you can file a complaint with the Louisiana Attorney General's office, as the law does not permit private lawsuits.
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