The first half of the year has seen a domino effect of states passing data privacy laws one after the other. While some have aligned in their way of protecting consumers' privacy, others have taken unique approaches that are poised to complicate companies' compliance strategies going forward. Above, we look at five recent developments in the data privacy world.   <b>Texas Data Privacy Bills Aligns with Strictest Laws in the U.S.</b>: In early June, Texas joined the growing list of states with data privacy laws when Gov. Greg Abbott signed the <a href= "https://www.law.com/legaltechnews/2023/06/28/from-outliers-to-copycats-5-recent-developments-in-data-privacy-world/">Texas Data Privacy and Security Act </a> TDPSA) into law. Data privacy professionals told Legaltech News the law aligns with some of the more prescriptive regulations in the U.S., such as the privacy laws in Colorado and Connecticut. In fact, the TDPSA has a uniquely broad scope of regulation. Instead of the familiar applicability thresholds found in other laws, such as minimum annual revenues or numbers of consumers' data processed in a year, the law simply exempts "small businesses" as defined by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).<br><br> However, the scope of the TDPSA becomes even broader when it comes to sensitive data. All businesses, including small organizations, will be required to obtain opt-in consent from subjects before engaging in the sale of sensitive data. "There's no denying the importance of the Texas privacy legislation in light of how significant Texas is as an economy," said Brittany Bacon, partner in Hunton Andrews Kurth's global privacy and cybersecurity practice.<br><br><i> Credit: Stephen Finn/Adobe Stock</i>