U.S. companies hit with record fines for privacy in 2025
TLDR
- US states issued $3.45B in privacy fines in 2025, more than the prior five years combined, per Gartner.
Key Facts
- California’s CPPA pursued violators across tech, auto, and consumer goods, including small and mid-sized companies.
- Ten states formed the Consortium of Privacy Regulators to coordinate cross-state investigations and enforcement.
- Gartner says regulators have shifted “from awareness to full scale enforcement” and expects fines to rise further.
- House Republicans introduced a federal privacy bill that would preempt stricter state laws like California’s CCPA.
Why It Matters
- Companies that let privacy programs atrophy during the low-enforcement years now face a sharply more aggressive enforcement environment.
- State regulators are extending enforcement to AI data practices, targeting how personal data is used to train models.
Derek B. Johnson, CyberScoop · 2026-04-28 · Read the original
