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News & Knowledge

Florida’s Consumer Privacy Law Fails to Pass

May 03, 2021

By: Drew Sorrell, Melody Lynch & Brian Lawrence

On Friday, April 30, Florida’s legislature closed its 2021 session without passing the much anticipated Florida Privacy Act. The Act largely failed to pass due to a disagreement between Florida’s house that wanted a private right of action included and the Florida Senate that wanted only Florida’s Attorney General to have enforcement rights. Given that both Republicans and Democrats supported the legislation, it is likely that another version of the Act will be taken up next year.

If the Act had passed, Florida would have been the third state to adopt such a comprehensive consumer privacy bill, joining California, which passed the California Consumer Privacy Act in 2018, and Virginia, which enacted the Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act on March 2, 2021. Washington state is likely to be the next state to pass comprehensive legislation. Europe previously implemented its General Data Protection Regulation in 2016, after which the California law is modeled.

If it had passed, the Florida bill likely would have covered entities that do business with Florida citizens and to which one of the following applied: met a revenue requirement regardless of number of records processed (e.g. $25 million), derived 50% or more of their revenue from processing such records, or that that bought, sold, or received a minimum number of records (e.g. 50,000 Florida residents, households or devices) annually. Given that the California version of this law has similar triggers, this trigger mechanism is likely to come back if Florida takes up the issue next year.



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Melody

Melody Lynch focuses her practice on probate, trust & fiduciary litigation, contested guardianships, and complex business disputes. Her MBA complements her law degree when she analyzes financial statements and handles other complicated issues involving assets. 

A significant portion of Melody’s practice is devoted to resolving conflicts among family members and other estate beneficiaries, fights over missing assets and property ownership, claims by or against fiduciaries, guardianship challenges, and other proceedings requiring the interpretation of wills and trusts. She frequently helps charitable organizations, foundations, trustees and other institutional beneficiaries of large estates navigate the probate process. Whether in or out of the courtroom, Melody handles these delicate – and often emotional – issues not just with legal proficiency but with compassion as well.  

Melody’s experience extends to other business disputes too, particularly in the employment law arena with matters involving restrictive covenants as well as non-compete and non-disclosure agreements. She has protected employers in a wide range of industries, including medical devices, pest control, physicians and physician practices. 

In addition, she is a Guardian ad Litem for the Legal Aid Society where she represents the interests of abused and neglected children. She also is a pro bono attorney for Seniors First where she represents the interests of indigent elderly wards. 

The court room isn’t the only stage on which Melody has appeared. Before pursuing her career in law, Melody attended college on a ballet scholarship and was an apprentice dancer with a professional ballet company. A native of Orlando, her passion for both the arts and the area informs her leadership roles in the Central Florida community. She serves as president-elect of the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra, was named to the prestigious Orlando Business Journal’s "40 under 40" list, and was awarded the Presidential Leadership Award by the Orange County Bar Association. 

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