How Do Smart-Device User Privacy Perspectives Compare to U.S. Privacy Law Protections?: A Comparison of Legal Protections and Consumer Perceptions for Privacy

Smart devices can record user data that companies share and process for secondary purposes. Collecting and processing such data can harm privacy, yet only five state legislatures in the United States had active comprehensive data protection laws to shield such privacy interests by May 2024. This article identifies consumer privacy rights and company responsibilities under comprehensive state data privacy laws. This study also uses an online survey of U.S. smart-device users to assess consumer desires for privacy protection of specific types of information, satisfaction with institutional privacy protection from policymakers and corporations, and general privacy concerns. After comparing consumer perspectives to protections afforded under state comprehensive data-protection laws, this article concludes that consumers have significant privacy concerns that are not addressed by state comprehensive data privacy laws.