Washington State Health Privacy Law Imposes New Obligations For Gaining Consent Before Collecting Consumer Health-Related Data

On April 27, 2023, Washington Governor Jay Inslee signed legislation to provide consumers with additional protection for personal health data collected by websites, mobile applications, and health tracking devices. It will apply to a broad range of organizations and activities, beyond those regulated by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). The following scenarios are examples of activities covered by the law in which consumer consent would be required before the consumer’s information could be collected, shared, or sold:

Websites or applications that provide information about health conditions and also collect the visitor’s internet protocol (IP) address . . .