Cheyenne — Wyoming lawmakers introduced a proposal this week that would recognize residents’ personal data as their private property and seek limits on how license-plate reader systems may be used. Supporters say the measure, if approved, would position Wyoming at the forefront of data-privacy law and impose new restrictions on companies and public agencies that collect and trade personal information.
What the bill would do
The draft legislation, called the Wyoming Personal Data Ownership Act, would treat an individual’s data as a proprietary right. Under that framework, a government request or a company’s use of someone’s data would resemble an easement or temporary borrowing rather than unfettered access.
“There’s nothing even close. It would be far and away the strongest privacy right on the planet,”
Sen. Chris Rothfuss, D-Laramie and co-chair of the legislature’s Select Committee on Blockchain, Financial Technology and Digital Innovation, described the bill to colleagues during a committee meeting in Casper. He also cautioned lawmakers that passage could provoke strong opposition from technology firms.
Where it goes from here
The bill and a companion measure aimed at curbing license-plate reader data usage are slated for fuller consideration at the select committee’s meeting at the University of Wyoming on Sept. 28–29. The committee has spent roughly eight years evaluating technology-related policies that touch residents’ personal information.
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Committee | Select Committee on Blockchain, Financial Technology and Digital Innovation |
| Next hearing | Sept. 28–29 at the University of Wyoming |
| Key sponsor | Sen. Chris Rothfuss, D-Laramie (co-chair) |
Implications for residents, companies and law enforcement
Backers say the property-rights approach changes the legal baseline: instead of relying solely on consumer-protection rules tied to specific platforms, the state would enshrine ownership of data itself. That would require private companies to obtain explicit permissions to process or transfer personal information and could complicate existing data brokerage practices.
Rothfuss acknowledged the potential for a heavy industry response. “If we implement it, candidly, it will make a lot of companies mad,” he told fellow legislators, according to meeting remarks. At the same time, public comment during the initial unveiling was limited and largely constructive, reflecting this stage of the proposal as an introduction rather than a finalized bill.
- Scope: The bill seeks to apply to a wide range of personal data rather than only specific platform outputs.
- Enforcement: The property framework would create a new legal lens for unauthorized possession or processing of data.
- Related measure: A separate bill would restrict how license-plate reader systems collect and share vehicle data.
Lawmakers on the committee said work on the legislation has included consultations over several months to address complex property-rights scenarios. If the committee advances the bill, public hearings and amendments are likely before any full-floor consideration.
For Wyoming residents and public agencies, the proposals raise practical questions about data collection practices now common across the state: who can access location and identity information, under what terms, and what remedies individuals would have if their data is used without consent. For businesses that rely on data flows, the bill could require changes to contracts, data-handling procedures and consent mechanisms.
Advocates for privacy said Wyoming has an opportunity to be a national leader, while industry representatives are expected to press for exemptions or modifications to limit compliance burdens. The committee’s September meeting at the University of Wyoming will be the next formal test of how far the state will go to redefine ownership of personal information.
