Amendment ID: S2608-55

Amendment 55

Private Right of Action

Ms. Rausch, Mr. Montigny, Ms. Kennedy, Ms. Miranda, Ms. Jehlen, Mr. Eldridge, Ms. Edwards and Messrs. Brady, Gómez, Keenan and Collins move that the proposed new draft be amended in section 1 by striking out, in line 650, the word “exclusive”; and

In section 1, in line 677, by adding at the end thereof the following new paragraph:-

(e) A violation of this chapter or a regulation adopted under this chapter with respect to the personal data of a consumer shall constitute an injury to that consumer. The injured consumer may bring a civil action against the party that commits the violation in any court of competent jurisdiction; provided, however, that such party is not a small business. In a civil action brought under this subsection in which a plaintiff prevails, the court may award the plaintiff one or more of the following remedies: (i) damages in an amount not less than $5,000 per individual per violation, as adjusted annually to reflect an increase in the Consumer Price Index, or actual damages, whichever is greater; (ii) punitive damages; (iii) injunctive relief, including an order that an entity retrieve any personal data transferred in violation of this chapter or a regulation adopted under this chapter; (iv) declaratory relief; and (v) reasonable attorney's fees and litigation costs.

For purposes of this paragraph, the term “small business” shall mean  a controller or processor that, for the period of the 3 preceding calendar years or for the period during which the controller or processor has been in existence if such period is less than 3 years: (i) had annual gross revenues not exceeding $20,000,000; (ii) on average, did not annually collect, process, retain, or transfer the personal data of more than 200,000 individuals during the period for any purpose other than initiating, rendering, billing for, finalizing, completing, or otherwise collecting payment for a requested service or product; and (iii) did not transfer personal data to a third party in exchange for revenue or other valuable consideration, except for purposes of initiating, rendering, billing for, finalizing, completing, or otherwise collecting payment for a requested service or product.