Connecticut Attorney General William Tong issued an advisory that newly enacted privacy laws take effect October 1, 2026, including Public Act 26-64 (SB4), which amends the Connecticut Data Privacy Act, and Public Act 26-15 (SB5), which established the Connecticut Artificial Intelligence Responsibility and Transparency Act (CART Act). The new laws regulate surveillance pricing, facial recognition technology, genetic data collected by direct-to-consumer testing companies, a ban on the sale of precise geolocation data, a data broker registry, AI use in employment decisions, and chatbots offered to children. No enforcement action was taken; this is prospective guidance alerting consumers and businesses to new rights and compliance requirements.
None - no enforcement action or remedies were imposed. This press release is a prospective advisory that new statutory requirements (surveillance pricing limits, FRT disclosures, genetic data consent, geolocation data sale ban, data broker registration by January 1, 2027, AI employment notice, and chatbot child-safety protocols) take effect October 1, 2026.
Although no enforcement action was taken, in-house teams should prepare for Connecticut's October 1, 2026 effective date by reviewing vendor, customer, and employee-facing agreements and policies. Review data processing addenda and adtech/marketing agreements for any sale or sharing of consumers' precise geolocation data (now banned in Connecticut) and for pricing-analytics vendors using personal data for surveillance pricing; review facial recognition vendor contracts for new signage and policy-hyperlink disclosure obligations; review direct-to-consumer genetic testing agreements for consent, consumer property rights, and controls over collection, use, retention, and destruction of genetic samples and results; review AI vendor agreements and employment policies for written-notice obligations when AI impacts employment decisions and non-discrimination terms aligned with the Connecticut Fair Employment Practices Act; and review chatbot or children's product agreements for self-harm detection protocols, parental controls, and prohibitions on harmful or manipulative engagement mechanics. Also confirm data broker registration obligations (deadline January 1, 2027) in data broker contracts and update privacy policies and deletion workflows for expanded consumer deletion rights over profiles generated from publicly available information.
Entity
N/A - General advisory to Connecticut businesses and consumers (no specific entity)
Industry
OtherOfficial Press Release
https://portal.ct.gov/ag/press-releases/2026-press-releases/rights-and-requirements-related-to-new-and-updated-privacy-laws
2026SB 00004 R00SA AMD
https://www.cga.ct.gov/2026/amd/S/pdf/2026SB-00004-R00SA-AMD.pdf
2026SB 00005 R00SA AMD
https://www.cga.ct.gov/2026/amd/S/pdf/2026SB-00005-R00SA-AMD.pdf
Connecticut Attorney General Enforcement Page
https://portal.ct.gov/AG/Privacy/Privacy-Resources
"Attorney General Tong Advises Connecticut Consumers and Businesses of Rights and Requirements Related to New and Updated Privacy Laws"
"Attorney General William Tong today advises Connecticut consumers"
"beginning October 1, 2026, they will enjoy additional privacy rights"
"under newly-enacted laws related to artificial intelligence, Facial Recognition Technology (FRT), genetic data privacy, surveillance pricing, and data brokers"
"recent amendments to the Connecticut Data Privacy Act ("CTDPA")"
"Connecticut enacted Public Act 26-64 ("SB4") in May of this year to amend the CTDPA"
$694.0M
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong joined 40 other state attorneys general in a settlement with Credit Acceptance Corporation (CAC), one of the nation's largest subprime auto lenders, resolving allegations that CAC originated loans it knew or should have known consumers could not afford and encouraged or failed to prevent dealers from 'packing' CAC loans with unwanted Vehicle Service Contract (VSC) and GAP products. The settlement, announced September 17, 2026 and effective November 2, 2026, directs $694 million in cash restitution and debt relief to consumers, plus an additional $15 million to the states, and imposes injunctive lending reforms. Note: this is a consumer-protection/lending enforcement action rather than a data privacy matter; the violation categories are best-fit mappings to the available taxonomy.
$384.2M
Connecticut joined 39 other states and the federal government in a $384 million False Claims Act settlement with Abbott Laboratories over allegations that the company failed to manufacture powder infant formula and nutritional therapy products in compliance with federal and state requirements at its Sturgis, Michigan, and Casa Grande, Arizona facilities. Abbott allegedly manufactured formula in conditions that risked microorganism contamination and failed to disclose contamination test results to the FDA during 2019 and 2022 inspections. The settlement resolves claims that Abbott caused false claims to be submitted to the WIC program and state Medicaid programs between January 1, 2018, and December 31, 2022.
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong joined a bipartisan coalition of 16 other state attorneys general in sending a letter to the U.S. Senate Banking Committee opposing the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, warning it would preempt state authority to protect investors from cryptocurrency fraud and scams. The coalition urges Congress to preserve state enforcement, registration, and federal-state cooperation roles over digital assets. This is a legislative advocacy action, not an enforcement action — no entity was charged, no violations were found, and no penalty was imposed.
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong announced a civil investigative demand into MediaLab.AI Inc., owner of the Kik Messenger app, over lax age assurance practices, content moderation, and child safety failures that advocates have dubbed a "predator's paradise." The action follows a July 2025 notice of violation under the Connecticut Data Privacy Act for privacy notice deficiencies and processing sensitive data — including health, biometric, and precise geolocation data — without proper consent, which the company has only partially addressed. The new investigation seeks records related to practices that may constitute unfair or deceptive acts or practices under the CTDPA and the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act. No fine has been imposed to date.
Attorney General William Tong issued a consumer alert warning Connecticut residents about unregulated, offshore decentralized finance (DeFi) cryptocurrency exchanges, naming GMX, Gains Network, dYdX, Aevo, Drift Protocol, Vertex Protocol, and Hyperliquid. The alert highlights risks including bypassing U.S. law via VPNs, predatory leverage up to 250x, misleading synthetic asset products, and lack of KYC protections. No enforcement action or penalty was imposed; at least one Connecticut consumer reportedly lost $200,000 deposited with an unregulated DeFi exchange.
$2.0M
Attorney General Tong and a coalition of four other states and the FTC sued Zillow and Redfin after Zillow paid Redfin $100 million to shut down its multifamily rental advertising business and transfer clients to Zillow. The settlement requires the companies to restore competition, with Redfin rebuilding its apartment advertising business, and pay $2 million to the coalition.