Which privacy laws apply to your business in Hawaii?
There is no comprehensive Hawaii consumer-privacy law. The state framework is sectoral, built on four statutes. The security breach act, HRS chapter 487N, requires any business that owns or licenses personal information of Hawaii residents — in any form, computerized, paper, or otherwise — and any government agency collecting personal information to notify affected persons of a security breach . Chapter 487J restricts how businesses and government agencies may use and disclose social security numbers . Chapter 487R requires reasonable measures to protect personal information when records are disposed of . And chapter 480 — Hawaii's unfair-and-deceptive-practices law — makes unfair or deceptive acts or practices in any trade or commerce unlawful, the hook that reaches broken privacy promises .
These statutes sweep broadly on the entity side even though they are narrow on the subject-matter side: a covered business is a sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation, association, or other group, however organized and whether or not organized to operate at a profit , and none of the three 487-series chapters carries a revenue or consumer-volume threshold. What Hawaii does not have is an omnibus statute: residents hold no general state-law rights to access, delete, correct, or port their personal data, no right to opt out of sale or targeted advertising, and businesses face no state notice-at-collection, consent, data-protection-assessment, or universal opt-out-signal duties. Comprehensive consumer-privacy proposals that would have created an omnibus rights-and-duties framework have not been enacted, so the sectoral statutes above remain the operative state law.
The rest of a Hawaii-facing privacy program rides the federal overlay. Under Section 5 of the FTC Act, unfair or deceptive acts or practices in or affecting commerce are unlawful . The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act bars a financial institution from disclosing nonpublic personal information to a nonaffiliated third party unless it has provided the consumer the required privacy notice ; HIPAA gives individuals a right to adequate notice of the uses and disclosures of protected health information a covered entity may make ; and the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act makes it unlawful for an operator of a website or online service directed to children to collect personal information from a child in a manner that violates the FTC's implementing regulations . This note is written to stay durable: a program built to the breach act, the sectoral handling rules, and that overlay upgrades rather than restarts if Hawaii later enacts an omnibus law.
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Primary law
A.1 HRS § 487N-2Hawaii's breach-notification duty applies to any business that owns or licenses personal information of Hawaii residents — in any form, including paper — and to government agencies collecting personal information.
Any business that owns or licenses personal information of residents of Hawaii, any business that conducts business in Hawaii that owns or licenses personal information in any form (whether computerized, paper, or otherwise), or any government agency that collects personal information for specific government purposes shall provide notice to the affected person that there has been a security breach following discovery or notification of the breach.
See Haw. Rev. Stat. § 487N-2(a).
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A.2 HRS § 487J-2Chapter 487J prohibits businesses and government agencies from publicly communicating an individual's entire social security number, among other SSN-handling restrictions.
Except as otherwise provided in subsection (b), a business or government agency may not do any of the following: (1) Intentionally communicate or otherwise make available to the general public an individual's entire social security number;
See Haw. Rev. Stat. § 487J-2(a).
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A.3 HRS § 487R-2Chapter 487R requires any business or government agency that conducts business in Hawaii or possesses Hawaii residents' personal information to take reasonable measures to protect it in connection with or after its disposal.
Any business or government agency that conducts business in Hawaii and any business or government agency that maintains or otherwise possesses personal information of a resident of Hawaii shall take reasonable measures to protect against unauthorized access to or use of the information in connection with or after its disposal.
See Haw. Rev. Stat. § 487R-2(a).
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A.4 HRS § 480-2Hawaii's UDAP statute declares unfair methods of competition and unfair or deceptive acts or practices in any trade or commerce unlawful — the state-law hook for privacy misrepresentations.
Unfair methods of competition and unfair or deceptive acts or practices in the conduct of any trade or commerce are unlawful.
See Haw. Rev. Stat. § 480-2(a).
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A.5 HRS § 487N-1A covered business under the breach act is any sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation, association, or other group, however organized and whether or not organized for profit — there is no size threshold.
“Business” means a sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation, association, or other group, however organized, and whether or not organized to operate at a profit.
See Haw. Rev. Stat. § 487N-1.
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A.6 FTC Act § 5Section 5 of the FTC Act declares unfair or deceptive acts or practices in or affecting commerce unlawful.
Unfair methods of competition in or affecting commerce, and unfair or deceptive acts or practices in or affecting commerce, are hereby declared unlawful.
See 15 U.S.C. § 45(a)(1).
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A.7 GLBA privacy-notice obligationGLBA bars a financial institution from disclosing nonpublic personal information to a nonaffiliated third party unless it has provided the consumer the required privacy notice.
Except as otherwise provided in this subchapter, a financial institution may not, directly or through any affiliate, disclose to a nonaffiliated third party any nonpublic personal information, unless such financial institution provides or has provided to the consumer a notice that complies with section 6803 of this title.
See 15 U.S.C. § 6802(a).
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A.8 HIPAA Notice of Privacy PracticesHIPAA gives individuals a right to adequate notice of the uses and disclosures of protected health information a covered entity may make, and of their rights and the entity's legal duties.
an individual has a right to adequate notice of the uses and disclosures of protected health information that may be made by the covered entity, and of the individual's rights and the covered entity's legal duties with respect to protected health information
See 45 C.F.R. § 164.520(a)(1).
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A.9 COPPA prohibitionCOPPA makes it unlawful for an operator of a website or online service directed to children, or an operator with actual knowledge it is collecting personal information from a child, to collect that information in violation of the FTC's regulations.
It is unlawful for an operator of a website or online service directed to children, or any operator that has actual knowledge that it is collecting personal information from a child, to collect personal information from a child in a manner that violates the regulations prescribed under subsection (b).
See 15 U.S.C. § 6502(a)(1).
What must your Hawaii privacy policy contain?
No Hawaii statute requires a general consumer privacy policy or fixes what it must say. The binding rule is instead that whatever you publish has to be true: under Section 5 of the FTC Act, unfair or deceptive acts or practices in or affecting commerce are unlawful , and HRS § 480-2 makes the same conduct unlawful as a matter of Hawaii law — with Hawaii courts and the Office of Consumer Protection directed to construe the state statute in line with FTC and federal-court interpretations of FTC Act § 5 . A privacy policy that misstates how you collect, use, share, retain, or secure data is therefore exposed under both regimes at once.
Where a sectoral regime applies, that regime supplies the contents. A HIPAA covered entity must give individuals a notice of the uses and disclosures of their protected health information and of their rights and the entity's legal duties ; a GLBA financial institution may not disclose nonpublic personal information to a nonaffiliated third party unless it has provided the consumer a privacy notice that complies with the federal requirements ; and a COPPA operator must provide notice on its website of what information it collects from children, how it uses that information, and its disclosure practices . For everyone else, the drafting question in Hawaii is less what must be included and more does the policy match actual practice. Best practice: describe the categories of data collected, the purposes, the third parties you share with, retention and security practices at an honest level of generality, and how users exercise any choices you offer — then honor it, because the enforceable obligation is consistency between the statement and the conduct. There is no Hawaii-mandated checklist to cite here, which is itself the point: the contents are overlay-driven, not state-statute-driven.
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Primary law
B.1 FTC Act § 5Section 5 of the FTC Act declares unfair or deceptive acts or practices in or affecting commerce unlawful, which reaches a privacy policy that misstates a business's actual data practices.
Unfair methods of competition in or affecting commerce, and unfair or deceptive acts or practices in or affecting commerce, are hereby declared unlawful.
See 15 U.S.C. § 45(a)(1).
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B.2 HRS § 480-2Hawaii's UDAP statute is construed in line with FTC and federal-court interpretations of FTC Act § 5, so federal deception standards for privacy statements carry over to state-law exposure.
In construing this section, the courts and the office of consumer protection shall give due consideration to the rules, regulations, and decisions of the Federal Trade Commission and the federal courts interpreting section 5(a)(1) of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 45(a)(1)), as from time to time amended.
See Haw. Rev. Stat. § 480-2(b).
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B.3 HIPAA Notice of Privacy PracticesA HIPAA covered entity must give individuals a notice describing the uses and disclosures of their protected health information and their rights and the entity's legal duties.
an individual has a right to adequate notice of the uses and disclosures of protected health information that may be made by the covered entity, and of the individual's rights and the covered entity's legal duties with respect to protected health information
See 45 C.F.R. § 164.520(a)(1).
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B.4 GLBA privacy-notice obligationA GLBA financial institution may not disclose nonpublic personal information to a nonaffiliated third party unless it has provided the consumer a privacy notice that complies with the federal requirements.
Except as otherwise provided in this subchapter, a financial institution may not, directly or through any affiliate, disclose to a nonaffiliated third party any nonpublic personal information, unless such financial institution provides or has provided to the consumer a notice that complies with section 6803 of this title.
See 15 U.S.C. § 6802(a).
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B.5 COPPA notice requirementA COPPA operator must provide notice on its website of what information it collects from children, how it uses that information, and its disclosure practices.
require the operator of any website or online service directed to children that collects personal information from children or the operator of a website or online service that has actual knowledge that it is collecting personal information from a child— (i) to provide notice on the website of what information is collected from children by the operator, how the operator uses such information, and the operator’s disclosure practices for such information
See 15 U.S.C. § 6502(b)(1)(A)(i).
What must your contracts with vendors say?
Hawaii has no omnibus data-processing-agreement requirement — no state statute prescribes controller-to-processor terms, audit rights, deletion clauses, or subprocessor flow-downs for general commercial contracts. But two Hawaii statutes do reach the vendor relationship directly. A business may satisfy its records-destruction duty by exercising due diligence and entering a written contract with a records-destruction vendor — and thereafter monitoring the vendor's compliance . And a vendor that maintains or possesses Hawaii residents' personal information it does not own must notify the data's owner or licensee of any security breach immediately following discovery — a faster trigger than the without-unreasonable-delay clock that applies to resident notice.
Build vendor terms around those two state hooks plus the sectoral overlay. The records-destruction chapter also regulates the vendor side directly: a disposal business operating in Hawaii must itself take reasonable measures — policies, procedures, and compliance monitoring — protecting personal information during and after collection, transportation, and disposal . On the federal side, the GLBA Safeguards Rule requires financial institutions to oversee service providers — selecting and retaining providers capable of maintaining appropriate safeguards, requiring them by contract to implement and maintain such safeguards, and periodically assessing them — and the HIPAA business-associate contract must establish the permitted and required uses and disclosures of protected health information and bind the business associate to appropriate safeguards, breach reporting back to the covered entity, and flow-down of the same restrictions to its subcontractors . Outside those verticals, carry the same protections forward as a matter of best practice — processing limited to documented instructions, confidentiality, reasonable security, prompt breach notification back to your business, and return or destruction of data at the end of the engagement — because while no Hawaii statute compels a general DPA, the breach-notice and destruction duties above land on you regardless of what the vendor contract says.
Sources for this answer
Primary law
C.1 HRS § 487R-2A business can satisfy its records-destruction obligation through due diligence plus a written contract with a records-destruction vendor, with ongoing monitoring of the vendor's compliance.
A business or government agency may satisfy its obligation hereunder by exercising due diligence and entering into a written contract with, and thereafter monitoring compliance by, another party engaged in the business of records destruction to destroy personal information in a manner consistent with this section.
See Haw. Rev. Stat. § 487R-2(c).
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C.2 HRS § 487N-2A business holding Hawaii residents' personal information that it does not own or license must notify the owner or licensee of a security breach immediately following discovery.
Any business located in Hawaii or any business that conducts business in Hawaii that maintains or possesses records or data containing personal information of residents of Hawaii that the business does not own or license, or any government agency that maintains or possesses records or data containing personal information of residents of Hawaii shall notify the owner or licensee of the information of any security breach immediately following discovery of the breach, consistent with the legitimate needs of law enforcement as provided in subsection (c).
See Haw. Rev. Stat. § 487N-2(b).
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C.3 HRS § 487R-2A disposal business operating in Hawaii must itself take reasonable measures to protect personal information against unauthorized access or use during and after collection, transportation, and disposal.
A disposal business that conducts business in Hawaii or disposes of personal information of residents of Hawaii shall take reasonable measures to dispose of records containing personal information by implementing and monitoring compliance with policies and procedures that protect against unauthorized access to, or use of, personal information during or after the collection, transportation, and disposing of such information.
See Haw. Rev. Stat. § 487R-2(d).
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C.4 GLBA Safeguards RuleThe GLBA Safeguards Rule requires a financial institution to oversee its service providers — selecting and retaining providers capable of maintaining appropriate safeguards, requiring them by contract to implement and maintain such safeguards, and periodically assessing them.
Oversee service providers, by: (1) Taking reasonable steps to select and retain service providers that are capable of maintaining appropriate safeguards for the customer information at issue; (2) Requiring your service providers by contract to implement and maintain such safeguards; and (3) Periodically assessing your service providers based on the risk they present and the continued adequacy of their safeguards.
See 16 C.F.R. § 314.4(f).
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C.5 HIPAA Business Associate ContractsThe HIPAA business-associate contract must establish the permitted and required uses and disclosures of protected health information and bind the business associate to appropriate safeguards, breach reporting to the covered entity, and flow-down of the same restrictions to subcontractors.
A contract between the covered entity and a business associate must: (i) Establish the permitted and required uses and disclosures of protected health information by the business associate. The contract may not authorize the business associate to use or further disclose the information in a manner that would violate the requirements of this subpart, if done by the covered entity, except that: (A) The contract may permit the business associate to use and disclose protected health information for the proper management and administration of the business associate, as provided in paragraph (e)(4) of this section; and (B) The contract may permit the business associate to provide data aggregation services relating to the health care operations of the covered entity. (ii) Provide that the business associate will: (A) Not use or further disclose the information other than as permitted or required by the contract or as required by law; (B) Use appropriate safeguards and comply, where applicable, with subpart C of this part with respect to electronic protected health information, to prevent use or disclosure of the information other than as provided for by its contract; (C) Report to the covered entity any use or disclosure of the information not provided for by its contract of which it becomes aware, including breaches of unsecured protected health information as required by § 164.410; (D) In accordance with § 164.502(e)(1)(ii), ensure that any subcontractors that create, receive, maintain, or transmit protected health information on behalf of the business associate agree to the same restrictions and conditions that apply to the business associate with respect to such information;
See 45 C.F.R. § 164.504(e)(2).
Do Hawaii residents have rights to access, delete, or opt out?
No. Hawaii law gives consumers no general rights to access, correct, delete, or port their personal data, no right to opt out of its sale or of targeted advertising, and no duty on businesses to honor universal opt-out signals such as Global Privacy Control. The disclosure Hawaii law does guarantee residents is breach notice: a business that owns or licenses a Hawaii resident's personal information must notify that person of a security breach . The closest thing to a state-law handling restriction is the social security number chapter — for example, a business may not require an individual to transmit an entire social security number over the internet unless the connection is secure or the number is encrypted .
The data rights a Hawaii resident does hold come from federal sectoral law, where applicable. A GLBA financial institution must give consumers the opportunity to opt out before their nonpublic personal information is disclosed to nonaffiliated third parties . Under COPPA, a parent can refuse to permit an operator's further use, maintenance, or future collection of a child's personal information . And a HIPAA covered entity must tell individuals, in its notice of privacy practices, about their rights to inspect and copy, to amend, and to receive an accounting of disclosures of their protected health information . Two practical notes round this out. First, a business serving customers in more than one state should assess the privacy laws of those other states separately — those laws operate on their own terms, and Hawaii law does not decide what they require. Second, if your published privacy policy promises access or deletion choices, honoring them stops being optional: a promise you do not keep is exposed as a deceptive practice under FTC Act § 5 and HRS § 480-2, covered in the privacy-policy section above.
Sources for this answer
Primary law
D.1 HRS § 487N-2Breach notice is the one disclosure Hawaii law guarantees residents — a business that owns or licenses a resident's personal information must notify the affected person of a security breach.
Any business that owns or licenses personal information of residents of Hawaii, any business that conducts business in Hawaii that owns or licenses personal information in any form (whether computerized, paper, or otherwise), or any government agency that collects personal information for specific government purposes shall provide notice to the affected person that there has been a security breach following discovery or notification of the breach.
See Haw. Rev. Stat. § 487N-2(a).
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D.2 HRS § 487J-2A business or government agency may not require transmission of an entire social security number over the internet unless the connection is secure or the number is encrypted.
Require an individual to transmit the individual's entire social security number over the Internet, unless the connection is secure or the social security number is encrypted.
See Haw. Rev. Stat. § 487J-2(a)(3).
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D.3 GLBA opt-outA GLBA financial institution must give the consumer the opportunity to direct that nonpublic personal information not be disclosed to a nonaffiliated third party before any such disclosure.
A financial institution may not disclose nonpublic personal information to a nonaffiliated third party unless— (A) such financial institution clearly and conspicuously discloses to the consumer, in writing or in electronic form or other form permitted by the regulations prescribed under section 6804 of this title, that such information may be disclosed to such third party; (B) the consumer is given the opportunity, before the time that such information is initially disclosed, to direct that such information not be disclosed to such third party; and (C) the consumer is given an explanation of how the consumer can exercise that nondisclosure option.
See 15 U.S.C. § 6802(b)(1).
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D.4 COPPA parental rightsCOPPA gives a parent the right to refuse to permit an operator's further use or maintenance, or future online collection, of the child's personal information.
the opportunity at any time to refuse to permit the operator’s further use or maintenance in retrievable form, or future online collection, of personal information from that child
See 15 U.S.C. § 6502(b)(1)(B)(ii).
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D.5 HIPAA individual rights in the privacy noticeA HIPAA covered entity's notice of privacy practices must state the individual's rights, including the rights to inspect and copy, to amend, and to receive an accounting of disclosures of protected health information.
The notice must contain a statement of the individual's rights with respect to protected health information and a brief description of how the individual may exercise these rights, as follows: (A) The right to request restrictions on certain uses and disclosures of protected health information as provided by § 164.522(a), including a statement that the covered entity is not required to agree to a requested restriction, except in case of a disclosure restricted under § 164.522(a)(1)(vi); (B) The right to receive confidential communications of protected health information as provided by § 164.522(b), as applicable; (C) The right to inspect and copy protected health information as provided by § 164.524; (D) The right to amend protected health information as provided by § 164.526; (E) The right to receive an accounting of disclosures of protected health information as provided by § 164.528;
See 45 C.F.R. § 164.520(b)(1)(iv).
When must you notify people of a data breach in Hawaii?
Without unreasonable delay. A business that owns or licenses Hawaii residents' personal information — in any form, computerized, paper, or otherwise — must notify each affected person after discovering a security breach, and the notification must be made without unreasonable delay, consistent with the legitimate needs of law enforcement and with measures necessary to determine contact information and the scope of the breach and to restore the data system's integrity . The trigger has a harm screen built in: a security breach is unauthorized access to and acquisition of unencrypted or unredacted records where illegal use of the personal information has occurred or is reasonably likely to occur and creates a risk of harm — and encrypted data joins the definition only when the key is compromised too . There is no fixed day-count deadline for private businesses.
Three features of Hawaii's statute deserve particular attention. First, it reaches paper records, not just computerized data — the covered-information clause says in any form (whether computerized, paper, or otherwise), so a misdirected box of files can trigger the same duty as a hacked database . Second, the statute prescribes notice contents: the notice must be clear and conspicuous and must describe the incident in general terms, the type of personal information involved, what the business has done to prevent further unauthorized access, a phone number for further information if one exists, and advice to stay vigilant by reviewing account statements and monitoring free credit reports . Third, compliance cannot be contracted away — any waiver of the section is void and unenforceable as contrary to public policy .
Personal information means a name combined with an unencrypted social security number, driver's license or Hawaii ID number, or a financial-account or card number with its access code or password — the definition does not include medical, biometric, or online-credential elements. Notice may be written, by email where the person has agreed to electronic communications, or telephonic, with substitute notice (email, conspicuous website posting, and statewide media) available when notice would cost over $100,000, the affected class exceeds two hundred thousand, or contact information is insufficient . When a single notification round goes to more than one thousand persons, the business must also notify Hawaii's Office of Consumer Protection and the nationwide consumer reporting agencies in writing of the timing, distribution, and content of the notice . One off-ramp: financial institutions following the federal interagency breach guidance and HIPAA-compliant health plans and providers are deemed compliant with the section .
Sources for this answer
Primary law
E.1 HRS § 487N-2Breach notice is owed to affected persons following discovery of a breach — covering personal information in any form, including paper — and must be made without unreasonable delay, subject to law-enforcement needs and scoping measures.
Any business that owns or licenses personal information of residents of Hawaii, any business that conducts business in Hawaii that owns or licenses personal information in any form (whether computerized, paper, or otherwise), or any government agency that collects personal information for specific government purposes shall provide notice to the affected person that there has been a security breach following discovery or notification of the breach. The disclosure notification shall be made without unreasonable delay, consistent with the legitimate needs of law enforcement as provided in subsection (c) of this section, and consistent with any measures necessary to determine sufficient contact information, determine the scope of the breach, and restore the reasonable integrity, security, and confidentiality of the data system.
See Haw. Rev. Stat. § 487N-2(a).
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E.2 HRS § 487N-1A security breach requires unauthorized access to and acquisition of unencrypted or unredacted personal information plus actual or reasonably likely illegal use creating a risk of harm; encrypted data is covered only if the confidential process or key is also acquired.
“Security breach” means an incident of unauthorized access to and acquisition of unencrypted or unredacted records or data containing personal information where illegal use of the personal information has occurred, or is reasonably likely to occur and that creates a risk of harm to a person. Any incident of unauthorized access to and acquisition of encrypted records or data containing personal information along with the confidential process or key constitutes a security breach.
See Haw. Rev. Stat. § 487N-1.
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E.5 HRS § 487N-1Personal information is a name combined with an unencrypted Social Security number, driver's license or Hawaii ID number, or a financial-account or card number with its access code or password.
“Personal information” means an individual's first name or first initial and last name in combination with any one or more of the following data elements, when either the name or the data elements are not encrypted: (1) Social security number; (2) Driver's license number or Hawaii identification card number; or (3) Account number, credit or debit card number, access code, or password that would permit access to an individual's financial account.
See Haw. Rev. Stat. § 487N-1.
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E.3 HRS § 487N-2Hawaii prescribes the notice contents: a clear and conspicuous notice describing the incident, the data types involved, protective steps taken, a contact number if one exists, and vigilance advice.
The notice shall be clear and conspicuous. The notice shall include a description of the following: (1) The incident in general terms; (2) The type of personal information that was subject to the unauthorized access and acquisition; (3) The general acts of the business or government agency to protect the personal information from further unauthorized access; (4) A telephone number that the person may call for further information and assistance, if one exists; and (5) Advice that directs the person to remain vigilant by reviewing account statements and monitoring free credit reports.
See Haw. Rev. Stat. § 487N-2(d).
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E.6 HRS § 487N-2Notice may be written, electronic (with consent), or telephonic, with substitute notice available when cost exceeds $100,000, the affected class exceeds 200,000, or contact information is insufficient.
For purposes of this section, notice to affected persons may be provided by one of the following methods: (1) Written notice to the last available address the business or government agency has on record; (2) Electronic mail notice, for those persons for whom a business or government agency has a valid electronic mail address and who have agreed to receive communications electronically if the notice provided is consistent with the provisions regarding electronic records and signatures for notices legally required to be in writing set forth in 15 U.S.C. section 7001; (3) Telephonic notice, provided that contact is made directly with the affected persons; and (4) Substitute notice, if the business or government agency demonstrates that the cost of providing notice would exceed $100,000 or that the affected class of subject persons to be notified exceeds two hundred thousand, or if the business or government agency does not have sufficient contact information or consent to satisfy paragraph (1), (2), or (3), for only those affected persons without sufficient contact information or consent, or if the business or government agency is unable to identify particular affected persons, for only those unidentifiable affected persons.
See Haw. Rev. Stat. § 487N-2(e).
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E.7 HRS § 487N-2When notice goes to more than 1,000 persons at one time, the business must also notify Hawaii's Office of Consumer Protection and the nationwide consumer reporting agencies of the timing, distribution, and content of the notice.
In the event a business provides notice to more than one thousand persons at one time pursuant to this section, the business shall notify in writing, without unreasonable delay, the State of Hawaii's office of consumer protection and all consumer reporting agencies that compile and maintain files on consumers on a nationwide basis, as defined in 15 U.S.C. section 1681a(p), of the timing, distribution, and content of the notice.
See Haw. Rev. Stat. § 487N-2(f).
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E.8 HRS § 487N-2Financial institutions subject to the federal interagency breach guidance and HIPAA-compliant health plans and healthcare providers are deemed in compliance with Hawaii's breach-notice section.
The following businesses shall be deemed to be in compliance with this section: (1) A financial institution that is subject to the federal Interagency Guidance on Response Programs for Unauthorized Access to Customer Information and Customer Notice published in the Federal Register on March 29, 2005, by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and the Office of Thrift Supervision, or subject to 12 C.F.R. Part 748, and any revisions, additions, or substitutions relating to the interagency guidance; and (2) Any health plan or healthcare provider that is subject to and in compliance with the standards for privacy or individually identifiable health information and the security standards for the protection of electronic health information of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996.
See Haw. Rev. Stat. § 487N-2(g).
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E.4 HRS § 487N-2The breach-notification duty cannot be waived by contract — any waiver is void and unenforceable as contrary to public policy.
Any waiver of the provisions of this section is contrary to public policy and is void and unenforceable.
See Haw. Rev. Stat. § 487N-2(h).
Can a consumer sue your business in Hawaii over privacy?
Yes — through more than one route. HRS § 487N-3(b) makes a business that violates any provision of the breach chapter liable to the injured party for the actual damages sustained as a result of the violation, with the court able to award reasonable attorneys' fees to the prevailing party . On top of that, the chapter carries public enforcement: penalties of up to $2,500 for each violation, in actions brought by the attorney general or the executive director of the Office of Consumer Protection . And Hawaii's UDAP law adds a second private track — a consumer injured by an unfair or deceptive practice may sue and recover not less than $1,000 or threefold the damages sustained, whichever is greater, plus reasonable attorney's fees and costs .
The same enforcement architecture repeats across Hawaii's sectoral privacy statutes. The social security number chapter and the records-destruction chapter each carry the identical pairing — a public penalty of up to $2,500 per violation, in actions by the attorney general or the executive director of the Office of Consumer Protection , plus a private action for actual damages with possible fee awards — so mishandling SSNs or sloppy records disposal creates the same dual exposure as a botched breach response. All three chapters provide that no such action may be brought against a government agency .
The UDAP track has its own contours. Standing on the deceptive-practices side is limited: only a consumer, the attorney general, or the director of the Office of Consumer Protection may sue over unfair or deceptive acts or practices — so business-to-business plaintiffs must frame claims differently. Public UDAP enforcement is backed by civil penalties of not less than $500 and not more than $10,000 per violation, collected in actions brought by the attorney general or the Office of Consumer Protection , and a violation directed at an elder — a consumer sixty-two or older — can draw an additional civil penalty of up to $10,000 per violation . The operational takeaway: even without an omnibus privacy act, a Hawaii privacy failure can produce a private damages suit under the breach chapter, a consumer treble-damages suit under chapter 480, and stacked public penalties — so breach-response discipline and accurate privacy statements are where Hawaii exposure is actually managed.
Sources for this answer
Primary law
F.1 HRS § 487N-3Hawaii's breach chapter gives the injured party a private action — a violating business is liable for actual damages, and the court may award reasonable attorneys' fees to the prevailing party.
In addition to any penalty provided for in subsection (a), any business that violates any provision of this chapter shall be liable to the injured party in an amount equal to the sum of any actual damages sustained by the injured party as a result of the violation. The court in any action brought under this section may award reasonable attorneys' fees to the prevailing party.
See Haw. Rev. Stat. § 487N-3(b).
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F.2 HRS § 487N-3Public enforcement of the breach chapter carries penalties of up to $2,500 per violation, in actions by the attorney general or the executive director of the Office of Consumer Protection; no action lies against a government agency.
Any business that violates any provision of this chapter shall be subject to penalties of not more than $2,500 for each violation. The attorney general or the executive director of the office of consumer protection may bring an action pursuant to this section. No such action may be brought against a government agency.
See Haw. Rev. Stat. § 487N-3(a).
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F.3 HRS § 480-13A consumer injured by an unfair or deceptive practice may sue and recover the greater of $1,000 or treble damages, plus reasonable attorney's fees and costs.
Any consumer who is injured by any unfair or deceptive act or practice forbidden or declared unlawful by section 480-2: (1) May sue for damages sustained by the consumer, and, if the judgment is for the plaintiff, the plaintiff shall be awarded a sum not less than $1,000 or threefold damages by the plaintiff sustained, whichever sum is the greater, and reasonable attorney's fees together with the costs of suit;
See Haw. Rev. Stat. § 480-13(b)(1).
Primary law
F.6 HRS § 487J-3The SSN-protection chapter carries the same private right of action as the breach chapter — actual damages for the injured party plus possible attorneys' fees.
In addition to any penalty provided for in subsection (a), any business that violates any provision of this chapter shall be liable to the injured party in an amount equal to the sum of any actual damages sustained by the injured party as a result of the violation. The court in any action brought under this section may award reasonable attorneys' fees to the prevailing party.
See Haw. Rev. Stat. § 487J-3(b).
Primary law
F.4 HRS § 487J-3Public enforcement of the SSN-protection chapter carries penalties of up to $2,500 per violation, in actions by the attorney general or the executive director of the Office of Consumer Protection; no such action may be brought against a government agency.
Any business that violates any provision of this chapter shall be subject to penalties of not more than $2,500 for each violation. The attorney general or the executive director of the office of consumer protection may bring an action pursuant to this section. No such action may be brought against a government agency.
See Haw. Rev. Stat. § 487J-3(a).
Primary law
F.5 HRS § 487R-3Public enforcement of the records-destruction chapter carries penalties of up to $2,500 per violation, in actions by the attorney general or the executive director of the Office of Consumer Protection; no such action may be brought against a government agency.
Any business that violates any provision of this chapter shall be subject to penalties of not more than $2,500 for each violation. The attorney general or the executive director of the office of consumer protection may bring an action pursuant to this section. No such action may be brought against a government agency.
See Haw. Rev. Stat. § 487R-3(a).
Primary law
F.7 HRS § 487R-3The records-destruction chapter also carries a private action for actual damages with possible attorneys' fees.
In addition to any penalty provided for in subsection (a), any business that violates any provision of this chapter shall be liable to the injured party in an amount equal to the sum of any actual damages sustained by the injured party as a result of the violation. The court in any action brought under this section may award reasonable attorneys' fees to the prevailing party.
See Haw. Rev. Stat. § 487R-3(b).
Primary law
F.8 HRS § 480-2Standing to sue over unfair or deceptive acts or practices is limited to consumers, the attorney general, and the director of the Office of Consumer Protection.
No person other than a consumer, the attorney general or the director of the office of consumer protection may bring an action based upon unfair or deceptive acts or practices declared unlawful by this section.
See Haw. Rev. Stat. § 480-2(d).
Primary law
F.9 HRS § 480-3.1UDAP violations carry a civil penalty of $500 to $10,000 per violation, collected in civil actions by the attorney general or the director of the Office of Consumer Protection, with each day a separate violation.
Any person, firm, company, association, or corporation violating any of the provisions of section 480-2 shall be fined a sum of not less than $500 nor more than $10,000 for each violation, which sum shall be collected in a civil action brought by the attorney general or the director of the office of consumer protection on behalf of the State.
See Haw. Rev. Stat. § 480-3.1.
Primary law
F.10 HRS § 480-13.5A UDAP violation that targets or injures an elder can draw an additional civil penalty of up to $10,000 per violation on top of any other penalty.
If a person commits a violation under section 480-2 which is directed toward, targets, or injures an elder, a court, in addition to any other civil penalty, may impose a civil penalty not to exceed $10,000 for each violation.
See Haw. Rev. Stat. § 480-13.5(a).