Which privacy laws apply to your business in Louisiana?
Two regimes matter — one in force now, one arriving. Today Louisiana has no comprehensive consumer-privacy law in effect: the operative state statutes are the Database Security Breach Notification Law (La. R.S. 51:3071–3077) and the Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law (LUTPA), both covered below. That changes on January 1, 2027, when the Louisiana Data Privacy Act (Act No. 502 of 2026, enacting La. R.S. 51:1780.1–1780.5) takes effect. The new act applies to a person or entity that does business in the state and meets any one of three thresholds: annual gross revenues over twenty-five million dollars, annually buying, receiving, selling, or sharing the personal information of seventy-five thousand or more consumers, households, or devices, or deriving fifty percent or more of annual revenue from selling consumers' personal information .
The thresholds are disjunctive, and the revenue prong stands alone — a company with more than twenty-five million dollars in gross revenue is covered even if it processes very little Louisiana data. Coverage is also bounded by who counts as a consumer: the act protects an individual Louisiana resident acting only in an individual or household context and expressly excludes people acting in a commercial or employment context , so employee and business-to-business data are outside the rights framework. Personal data means any information linked or reasonably linkable to an identified or identifiable individual, excluding deidentified and publicly available information .
The exemption list does a lot of work. The act does not apply to state agencies or political subdivisions, GLBA financial institutions and GLBA-regulated data, HIPAA covered entities and business associates, nonprofit organizations, institutions of higher education, electric public utilities, or registered public-opinion poll conductors . Data-level carve-outs separately cover HIPAA protected health information , FCRA-regulated consumer-report activity, DPPA data, FERPA data, Farm Credit Act data, and employment, applicant, agent, and independent-contractor data used in that role . If your organization or data falls inside one of those exemptions, the new act changes little; the breach law and LUTPA still apply.
Unresolved statutory wording: the act's volume and revenue thresholds turn on personal information — a term the chapter never defines — while every operative duty is written in terms of the defined term personal data . Until the Attorney General or a court clarifies the mismatch, a conservative scoping analysis should treat the undefined threshold term as at least as broad as personal data rather than assume it narrows coverage.
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A.1 La. R.S. 51:1780.2(A)The LDPA applies to a person or entity doing business in Louisiana that meets any one of three thresholds: over $25 million in annual gross revenue, annually handling the personal information of 75,000 or more consumers, households, or devices, or deriving 50 percent or more of annual revenue from selling personal information.
The provisions of this Chapter shall apply only to a person or entity that does business in the state and that satisfies one or more of the following thresholds: (1) Has annual gross revenues in excess of twenty-five million dollars. (2) Annually buys, receives for the business's commercial purposes, sells, or shares for commercial purposes the personal information of seventy-five thousand or more consumers, households, or devices. (3) Derives fifty percent or more of its annual revenues from selling consumers' personal information.
See La. R.S. 51:1780.2(A) (Act No. 502 of 2026, eff. Jan. 1, 2027).
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A.2 La. R.S. 51:1780.1(7)A consumer under the LDPA is a Louisiana resident acting only in an individual or household context — not in a commercial or employment context — so employee and B2B data fall outside the act's rights framework.
"Consumer" means an individual who is a resident of this state acting only in an individual or household context. The term does not include an individual acting in a commercial or employment context.
See La. R.S. 51:1780.1(7) (Act No. 502 of 2026, eff. Jan. 1, 2027).
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A.3 La. R.S. 51:1780.1(19)The LDPA defines personal data as any information, including sensitive data, linked or reasonably linkable to an identified or identifiable individual, excluding deidentified data and publicly available information — while the applicability thresholds use the undefined term personal information.
"Personal data" means any information, including sensitive data, that is linked or reasonably linkable to an identified or identifiable individual. The term does not include deidentified data or publicly available information.
See La. R.S. 51:1780.1(19) (Act No. 502 of 2026, eff. Jan. 1, 2027).
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A.4 La. R.S. 51:1780.2(B)The LDPA exempts state agencies and political subdivisions, GLBA financial institutions and GLBA-regulated data, HIPAA covered entities and business associates, nonprofit organizations, institutions of higher education, electric public utilities, and registered public-opinion poll conductors.
The provisions of this Chapter do not apply to any of the following items: (1) A state agency or a political subdivision of this state. (2) A financial institution and its affiliates or data subject to Title V, Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, 15 U.S.C. 6801 et seq., and the rules and implementing regulations promulgated thereunder. (3) A covered entity or business associate governed by the privacy, security, and breach notification rules issued by the United States Department of Health and Human Services, 45 CFR Parts 160 and 164, established under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, 42 U.S.C. 1320d et seq. (4) A nonprofit organization. (5) An institution of higher education. (6) An electric public utility as defined in R.S. 45:121. (7) A person, association, partnership, or corporation registered with the secretary of state as a conductor of public opinion polls pursuant to R.S. 14:325.
See La. R.S. 51:1780.2(B) (Act No. 502 of 2026, eff. Jan. 1, 2027).
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A.5 La. R.S. 51:1780.2(C)(1)The LDPA exempts protected health information under HIPAA.
Protected health information under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, 42 U.S.C. 1320d et seq.
See La. R.S. 51:1780.2(C)(1) (Act No. 502 of 2026, eff. Jan. 1, 2027).
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A.6 La. R.S. 51:1780.2(C)(11)–(15)The LDPA exempts FCRA-regulated consumer-report activity, DPPA data, FERPA data, Farm Credit Act data, and employment, applicant, agent, and independent-contractor data used in that role.
The collection, maintenance, disclosure, sale, communication, or use of any personal information bearing on a consumer's creditworthiness, credit standing, credit capacity, character, general reputation, personal characteristics, or mode of living by a consumer reporting agency or furnisher that provides information for use in a consumer report, and by a user of a consumer report, but only to the extent that the activity is regulated by and authorized under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, 15 U.S.C. 1681 et seq. (12) Personal data collected, processed, sold, or disclosed in compliance with the Driver's Privacy Protection Act of 1994, 18 U.S.C. 2721 et seq. (13) Personal data regulated by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, 20 U.S.C. 1232g. (14) Personal data collected, processed, sold, or disclosed in compliance with the Farm Credit Act of 1971, 12 U.S.C. 2001 et seq. (15) Data processed or maintained in the course of an individual applying to, being employed by, or acting as an agent or independent contractor of a controller, processor, or third party, to the extent that the data is collected and used within the context of that role.
See La. R.S. 51:1780.2(C)(11)–(15) (Act No. 502 of 2026, eff. Jan. 1, 2027).
What must your Louisiana privacy policy contain?
Today, no Louisiana statute fixes the contents of a general consumer privacy policy — the governing rule is that whatever you publish must be true, because a policy that misstates your practices can create deceptive-practices risk under LUTPA and Section 5 of the FTC Act . From January 1, 2027, that changes: the LDPA requires a reasonably accessible and clear privacy notice listing six items — the categories of personal data processed (including any sensitive data), the purposes of processing, how consumers exercise and appeal their rights, the categories of personal data sold to third parties, the categories of third parties involved in those sales, and a description of the methods for submitting rights requests .
Treat the six-item list as a checklist: each element should appear on the face of the policy rather than be scattered through product screens. Two further disclosure duties sit on top of it. First, a controller that sells personal data to third parties or processes it for targeted advertising must clearly and conspicuously disclose that processing and how a consumer can opt out of it . Second — the act's most distinctive drafting feature — selling certain data triggers scripted, word-for-word notices. A controller that sells sensitive personal data must post the exact sentence “NOTICE: We may sell your sensitive personal data.” in the same manner as the privacy notice , and one that sells biometric data must post “NOTICE: We may sell your biometric personal data.” . There is no room to paraphrase either sentence — the statute supplies the language.
For a business updating its policy before the effective date, the practical sequencing is to keep the policy accurate under the deception standard now and add the six enumerated items plus any required scripted notices so the policy is compliant on January 1, 2027.
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B.3 La. R.S. 51:1780.4(B)(1)From January 1, 2027, a controller must provide a reasonably accessible and clear privacy notice listing six fixed items: data categories processed, purposes, rights-and-appeal process, categories of data sold, categories of third-party buyers, and the request-submission methods.
A controller shall provide consumers with a reasonably accessible and clear privacy notice that includes all of the following: (a) The categories of personal data processed by the controller, including, if applicable, any sensitive data processed by the controller. (b) The purpose for processing personal data. (c) A process on how consumers may exercise their consumer rights pursuant to R.S. 51:1780.3, including the process by which a consumer may appeal a controller's decision with regard to the consumer's request. (d) If applicable, the categories of personal data that the controller sells to third parties. (e) If applicable, the categories of third parties with whom the controller sells personal data. (f) A description of the methods required pursuant to R.S. 51:1780.3(E) through which consumers can submit requests to exercise their consumer rights under this Chapter.
See La. R.S. 51:1780.4(B)(1) (Act No. 502 of 2026, eff. Jan. 1, 2027).
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B.5 La. R.S. 51:1780.4(B)(2)A controller that sells sensitive personal data must post a fixed, word-for-word statutory notice saying so, in the same manner as its privacy notice.
If a controller engages in the sale of personal data that is sensitive, the controller shall post the following notice in the same manner as the privacy notice described in Subsection B of this Section: "NOTICE: We may sell your sensitive personal data."
See La. R.S. 51:1780.4(B)(2) (Act No. 502 of 2026, eff. Jan. 1, 2027).
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B.6 La. R.S. 51:1780.4(B)(3)A controller that sells biometric personal data must post a fixed, word-for-word statutory notice saying so, in the same manner as its privacy notice.
If a controller engages in the sale of personal data that is biometric data, the controller shall post the following notice in the same manner as the privacy notice described in Subsection B of this Section: "NOTICE: We may sell your biometric personal data."
See La. R.S. 51:1780.4(B)(3) (Act No. 502 of 2026, eff. Jan. 1, 2027).
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B.4 La. R.S. 51:1780.4(C)A controller that sells personal data or processes it for targeted advertising must clearly and conspicuously disclose that processing and how a consumer may opt out of it.
If a controller sells personal data to third parties or processes personal data for targeted advertising, the controller shall clearly and conspicuously disclose that process and the manner in which a consumer may exercise the right to opt out of that process.
See La. R.S. 51:1780.4(C) (Act No. 502 of 2026, eff. Jan. 1, 2027).
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B.1 La. R.S. 51:1405LUTPA declares unfair or deceptive acts or practices in the conduct of any trade or commerce unlawful, creating deceptive-practices risk when a privacy policy misstates a business's actual data practices.
Unfair methods of competition and unfair or deceptive acts or practices in the conduct of any trade or commerce are hereby declared unlawful.
See La. R.S. 51:1405(A).
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B.2 FTC Act § 5Section 5 of the FTC Act declares unfair or deceptive acts or practices in or affecting commerce unlawful, creating deceptive-practices risk when a privacy policy 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).
Do you need consent to process sensitive data in Louisiana?
From January 1, 2027, yes. The LDPA forbids a controller from processing a consumer's sensitive data without the consumer's consent, and for a known child it requires handling the data in accordance with the federal Children's Online Privacy Protection Act . Sensitive data covers personal data revealing racial or ethnic origin, religious beliefs, mental or physical health diagnosis, sexuality, or citizenship or immigration status; genetic or biometric data processed to uniquely identify a person; data collected from a known child; and precise geolocation .
Consent is a defined term with teeth: it means a clear affirmative act signifying freely given, specific, informed, and unambiguous agreement, and it expressly excludes acceptance buried in general terms of use, hovering over or closing content, and agreement obtained through dark patterns . Pre-checked boxes and silence do not qualify. A separate sensitive-data sale rule deserves attention from data-heavy businesses: an entity covered by the fifty-percent-of-revenue threshold may not sell sensitive personal data without the consumer's prior consent , subject to otherwise applicable LDPA exemptions .
Sensitive-data processing also triggers paperwork. A controller must conduct and document a data protection assessment for the processing of sensitive data — alongside targeted advertising, the sale of personal data, higher-risk profiling, and any processing presenting a heightened risk of harm . The assessment duty applies to processing activities as of January 1, 2027 and is not retroactive , so the build-out can focus on go-forward processing rather than historical inventories.
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C.1 La. R.S. 51:1780.4(A)(2)(d)The LDPA's list of controller prohibitions bars processing a consumer's sensitive data without consent, and requires processing a known child's sensitive data in accordance with COPPA.
Process the sensitive data of a consumer without obtaining the consumer's consent, or, in the case of processing the sensitive data of a known child, without processing that data in accordance with the rules, regulations, and the exceptions of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998, 15 U.S.C. 6501 et seq.
See La. R.S. 51:1780.4(A)(2)(d) (Act No. 502 of 2026, eff. Jan. 1, 2027).
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C.2 La. R.S. 51:1780.1(29)Sensitive data under the LDPA includes data revealing race or ethnicity, religious beliefs, health diagnoses, sexuality, or citizenship or immigration status; genetic or biometric data processed for unique identification; a known child's data; and precise geolocation data.
"Sensitive data" means a category of personal data. The term includes any of the following: (a) Personal data revealing racial or ethnic origin, religious beliefs, mental or physical health diagnosis, sexuality, or citizenship or immigration status. (b) Genetic or biometric data that is processed for the purpose of uniquely identifying an individual. (c) Personal data collected from a known child. (d) Precise geolocation data.
See La. R.S. 51:1780.1(29) (Act No. 502 of 2026, eff. Jan. 1, 2027).
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C.3 La. R.S. 51:1780.1(6)Consent under the LDPA means a clear affirmative act signifying freely given, specific, informed, and unambiguous agreement — and excludes acceptance in general terms of use, hovering over or closing content, and agreement obtained through dark patterns.
"Consent" when referring to a consumer means a clear affirmative act signifying a consumer's freely given, specific, informed, and unambiguous agreement to process personal data relating to the consumer. The term includes a written statement, including a statement written by electronic means, or any other unambiguous affirmative action. The term does not include any of the following: (a) Acceptance in a general or broad terms of use or similar document that contains descriptions of personal data processing along with other, unrelated information. (b) Hovering over, muting, pausing, or closing a given piece of content. (c) Agreement obtained through the use of dark patterns.
See La. R.S. 51:1780.1(6) (Act No. 502 of 2026, eff. Jan. 1, 2027).
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C.4 La. R.S. 51:1780.4(P)An entity covered by the 50-percent-of-revenue-from-data-sales threshold may not sell sensitive personal data without the consumer's prior consent.
A person or entity described by R.S. 51:1780.2(A)(3) may not engage in the sale of personal data that is sensitive data without receiving prior consent from the consumer.
See La. R.S. 51:1780.4(P)(1) (Act No. 502 of 2026, eff. Jan. 1, 2027).
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C.5 La. R.S. 51:1780.2(B)The LDPA separately exempts listed persons and entities, so the sensitive-data sale rule does not override otherwise applicable chapter exemptions.
The provisions of this Chapter do not apply to any of the following items: (1) A state agency or a political subdivision of this state. (2) A financial institution and its affiliates or data subject to Title V, Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, 15 U.S.C. 6801 et seq., and the rules and implementing regulations promulgated thereunder. (3) A covered entity or business associate governed by the privacy, security, and breach notification rules issued by the United States Department of Health and Human Services, 45 CFR Parts 160 and 164, established under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, 42 U.S.C. 1320d et seq. (4) A nonprofit organization. (5) An institution of higher education. (6) An electric public utility as defined in R.S. 45:121. (7) A person, association, partnership, or corporation registered with the secretary of state as a conductor of public opinion polls pursuant to R.S. 14:325.
See La. R.S. 51:1780.2(B) (Act No. 502 of 2026, eff. Jan. 1, 2027).
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C.6 La. R.S. 51:1780.4(E)(1)A controller must conduct and document a data protection assessment for targeted advertising, the sale of personal data, higher-risk profiling, the processing of sensitive data, and any processing presenting a heightened risk of harm to consumers.
A controller shall conduct and document a data protection assessment of each of the following processing activities involving personal data: (a) The processing of personal data for purposes of targeted advertising. (b) The sale of personal data. (c) The processing of personal data for purposes of profiling, if the profiling presents a reasonably foreseeable risk of any of the following: (i) Unfair or deceptive treatment of or unlawful disparate impact on consumers. (ii) Financial, physical, or reputational injury to consumers. (iii) A physical or other intrusion on the solitude or seclusion, or the private affairs or concerns, of consumers, if the intrusion would be offensive to a reasonable person. (iv) Other substantial injury to consumers. (d) The processing of sensitive data. (e) Any processing activities involving personal data that present a heightened risk of harm to consumers.
See La. R.S. 51:1780.4(E)(1) (Act No. 502 of 2026, eff. Jan. 1, 2027).
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C.7 La. R.S. 51:1780.4(E)(7)Data protection assessments are required for processing activities as of January 1, 2027 and are not retroactive.
Data protection assessments are required for processing activities as of January 1, 2027, and are not retroactive.
See La. R.S. 51:1780.4(E)(7) (Act No. 502 of 2026, eff. Jan. 1, 2027).
What must your contracts with processors say?
Today, no Louisiana statute prescribes controller-to-processor contract terms — vendor data terms are driven by the sectoral regimes that apply to your business and by contract best practice. From January 1, 2027, the LDPA makes a written data processing agreement a statutory requirement: a contract between the controller and the processor must govern the processing and must include processing instructions, the nature and purpose of processing, the data types and duration, the parties' rights and obligations, and processor commitments to confidentiality, deletion or return of data, compliance demonstrations, assessments, and written subcontractor flow-downs .
A compliant template tracks each statutory element. The act also assigns processors an assistance role that reaches beyond the contract: a processor must help the controller meet its obligations, including security and the notification of a breach of the processor's own system under the existing breach-notification chapter — a useful reminder that the 2005 breach law remains live infrastructure underneath the new act rather than being replaced by it.
Until the act takes effect, the contracting obligations that do exist come from the federal overlay. The GLBA Safeguards Rule requires financial institutions to oversee service providers by contract and to require them to maintain appropriate safeguards , and HIPAA requires a business-associate agreement with mandatory data-protection and breach-reporting terms before protected health information changes hands . Outside those verticals, carrying the LDPA's contract elements into vendor agreements now is the low-cost way to be ready on the effective date.
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D.1 La. R.S. 51:1780.4(D)(2)From January 1, 2027, processing by a processor must be governed by a written contract with fixed contents: instructions, nature and purpose, data types and duration, the parties' rights and obligations, and processor commitments to confidentiality, deletion or return, compliance demonstrations, assessments, and subcontractor flow-downs.
A contract between a controller and a processor shall govern the processor's data processing procedures with respect to processing performed on behalf of the controller. The contract shall include all of the following: (a) Clear instructions for processing data. (b) The nature and purpose of processing. (c) The type of data subject to processing. (d) The duration of processing. (e) The rights and obligations of both parties. (f) A requirement that the processor shall do all of the following: (i) Ensure that each person processing personal data is subject to a duty of confidentiality with respect to the data. (ii) At the controller's direction, delete or return all personal data to the controller as requested after the provision of the service is completed, unless retention of the personal data is required by law. (iii) Make available to the controller, on reasonable request, all information in the processor's possession necessary to demonstrate the processor's compliance with the requirements of this Chapter. (iv) Allow, and cooperate with, reasonable assessments by the controller or the controller's designated assessor. (v) Engage any subcontractor pursuant to a written contract that requires the subcontractor to meet the requirements of the processor with respect to the personal data.
See La. R.S. 51:1780.4(D)(2) (Act No. 502 of 2026, eff. Jan. 1, 2027).
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D.2 La. R.S. 51:1780.4(D)(1)(b)A processor must assist the controller with the security of processing and with notification of a breach of the processor's system under the existing breach-notification law, La. R.S. 51:3071 et seq.
Taking into account the nature of processing and the information available to the processor, by assisting the controller in meeting the controller's obligations in relation to the security of processing personal data, and in relation to the notification of a breach of security of the processor's system pursuant to R.S. 51:3071 et seq.
See La. R.S. 51:1780.4(D)(1)(b) (Act No. 502 of 2026, eff. Jan. 1, 2027).
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D.3 GLBA Safeguards RuleThe GLBA Safeguards Rule requires a financial institution to oversee its service providers, including by requiring them by contract to implement and maintain appropriate safeguards for customer information.
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)(1)–(3).
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D.4 HIPAA Business Associate ContractsHIPAA requires a written business-associate contract that establishes permitted uses and disclosures of protected health information, bars other uses and disclosures, requires safeguards, and requires reporting of non-contract uses, disclosures, and unsecured-PHI breaches.
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;
See 45 C.F.R. § 164.504(e)(2).
What rights will Louisiana consumers have over their data?
No LDPA-style access, correction, deletion, portability, or opt-out rights exist under current Louisiana law — and a full standard set starts January 1, 2027. From that date a controller must comply with an authenticated consumer request to confirm processing and access the data, correct inaccuracies, delete personal data provided by or obtained about the consumer, obtain a portable copy, and opt out of targeted advertising, the sale of personal data, and profiling in furtherance of decisions that produce legal or similarly significant effects .
The mechanics follow the pattern in-house teams will recognize. A controller must respond within forty-five days, extendable once by forty-five more with notice and a reason; a refusal must come within the same window with appeal instructions; and responses are free up to twice a year per consumer . A denied consumer can appeal, and the controller must answer the appeal in writing within sixty days with a written explanation . Contract terms cannot drain these rights: any provision that waives or limits a consumer right is contrary to public policy and void .
On universal opt-out signals, the act takes a conditional path rather than a mandate. There is no requirement to honor a regulator-approved opt-out signal by a fixed deadline. Instead, a consumer may designate an authorized agent — including through a technology such as a browser setting, extension, or a global device setting — to opt out of targeted advertising and data sales, and the controller must comply when it can verify the consumer's identity and the agent's authority with commercially reasonable effort, unless a statutory exception applies . Those exceptions cover unclear agent requests, inability to verify Louisiana residency, lack of ability to process the request, and controllers that do not process similar requests under similar other-state laws . The statute then disciplines the signal itself: the opt-out technology may not rely on a default setting and must reflect the consumer's affirmative, freely given, unambiguous choice . The practical read for compliance teams: build a pathway where the request can be verified and no statutory exception applies.
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E.1 La. R.S. 51:1780.3(A)(2)From January 1, 2027, Louisiana consumers may confirm and access, correct, delete, and obtain a portable copy of their personal data, and opt out of targeted advertising, data sales, and profiling for decisions with legal or similarly significant effects.
A controller shall comply with an authenticated consumer request to exercise the right to do any of the following: (a) Confirm whether a controller is processing the consumer's personal data and to access the personal data. (b) Correct inaccuracies in the consumer's personal data, taking into account the nature of the personal data and the purposes of the processing of the consumer's personal data. (c) Delete personal data provided by or obtained about the consumer. (d) If the data is available in a digital format, obtain a copy of the consumer's personal data that the consumer previously provided to the controller in a portable and, to the extent technically feasible, readily usable format that allows the consumer to transmit the data to another controller without hindrance. (e) Opt out of the processing of the personal data for purposes of: (i) Targeted advertising. (ii) The sale of personal data. (iii) Profiling in furtherance of a decision that produces a legal or similarly significant effect concerning the consumer.
See La. R.S. 51:1780.3(A)(2) (Act No. 502 of 2026, eff. Jan. 1, 2027).
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E.2 La. R.S. 51:1780.3(B)A controller must respond to a rights request within 45 days (extendable once by 45 days with notice and a reason), must explain refusals within the same window with appeal instructions, and must answer free of charge up to twice annually per consumer.
A controller shall respond to the consumer request without undue delay, which may not be later than the forty-fifth calendar day after the date of receipt of the request. The controller may extend the response period once by an additional forty-five days when reasonably necessary, taking into account the complexity and number of the consumer's requests, so long as the controller informs the consumer of the extension within the initial forty-five day response period, together with the reason for the extension. (3) If a controller declines to take action regarding the consumer's request, the controller shall inform the consumer without undue delay, which may not be later than the forty-fifth calendar day after the date of receipt of the request, of the justification for declining to take action and provide instructions on how to appeal the decision in accordance with Subsection C of this Section. (4) A controller shall provide information in response to a consumer request free of charge, up to twice annually per consumer.
See La. R.S. 51:1780.3(B)(2)–(4) (Act No. 502 of 2026, eff. Jan. 1, 2027).
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E.3 La. R.S. 51:1780.3(C)(3)A controller must inform the consumer in writing of the outcome of an appeal within 60 days of receipt, with a written explanation of the reasons.
A controller shall inform the consumer in writing of any action taken or not taken in response to an appeal under this Section not later than the sixtieth calendar day after the date of receipt of the appeal, including a written explanation of the reason or reasons for the decision.
See La. R.S. 51:1780.3(C)(3) (Act No. 502 of 2026, eff. Jan. 1, 2027).
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E.5 La. R.S. 51:1780.3(E)(5)A consumer may designate an authorized agent — including through a browser setting, extension, or global device setting — to opt out of targeted advertising and data sales; the controller must comply when it can verify the consumer and agent authority, unless the request is unclear, Louisiana residency cannot be verified, the controller cannot process the request, or the controller does not process similar requests under similar other-state laws.
A consumer may designate another person to serve as the consumer's authorized agent and act on the consumer's behalf to opt out of the processing of the consumer's personal data pursuant to Items (A)(2)(e)(i) and (ii) of this Section. A consumer may designate an authorized agent using a technology, including a link to a website, an internet browser setting or extension, or a global setting on an electronic device, that allows the consumer to indicate the consumer's intent to opt out of the processing for targeted advertising, for sale of personal data, or both. A controller shall comply with an opt-out request received from an authorized agent under this Subsection if the controller is able to verify, with commercially reasonable effort, the identity of the consumer and the authorized agent's authority to act on the consumer's behalf. A controller is not required to comply with an opt-out request received from an authorized agent under this Subsection if any one of the following applies: (a) The authorized agent does not communicate the request to the controller in a clear and unambiguous manner. (b) The controller is not able to verify, with commercially reasonable effort, that the consumer is a resident of this state. (c) The controller does not possess the ability to process the request. (d) The controller does not process similar or identical requests the controller receives from consumers for the purpose of complying with similar or identical laws or regulations of another state.
See La. R.S. 51:1780.3(E)(5) (Act No. 502 of 2026, eff. Jan. 1, 2027).
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E.6 La. R.S. 51:1780.3(E)(6)The opt-out technology may not use a default setting and must require the consumer's affirmative, freely given, and unambiguous choice to opt out.
The technology described by this Subsection: (a) Shall not unfairly disadvantage another controller. (b) May not make use of a default setting, but shall require the consumer to make an affirmative, freely given, and unambiguous choice to indicate the consumer's intent to opt out of any processing of a consumer's personal data.
See La. R.S. 51:1780.3(E)(6) (Act No. 502 of 2026, eff. Jan. 1, 2027).
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E.4 La. R.S. 51:1780.3(D)Any contract provision that waives or limits a consumer right under the LDPA is contrary to public policy and void and unenforceable.
Any provision of a contract or agreement that waives or limits in any way a consumer right described in this Section is contrary to public policy and is void and unenforceable.
See La. R.S. 51:1780.3(D) (Act No. 502 of 2026, eff. Jan. 1, 2027).
When must you notify people of a data breach in Louisiana?
Any person or agency that owns or licenses computerized data containing personal information must, after discovering a breach of the security of the system, notify every Louisiana resident whose personal information was, or is reasonably believed to have been, acquired by an unauthorized person . The notice must go out in the most expedient time possible and without unreasonable delay — and no later than sixty days from discovery of the breach .
This is the Database Security Breach Notification Law, in force since 2006, and it remains fully operative alongside the new privacy act. For breach-law purposes, personal information means a resident's first name or initial and last name combined with an unencrypted, unredacted Social Security number, driver's license or state ID number, financial-account or card number with its access code, passport number, or biometric data . The same chapter imposes Louisiana's standing data-security duty — reasonable security procedures and practices appropriate to the nature of the information — plus a secure-destruction obligation for records no longer retained .
Two further features shape incident response. First, a risk-of-harm off-ramp: notice is not required if a reasonable investigation concludes there is no reasonable likelihood of harm to Louisiana residents, but the written determination must be kept for five years and produced to the Attorney General within thirty days of a written request . Second, the chapter took effect only after the Attorney General promulgated implementing rules , so an incident-response plan should not treat the statute as the only Louisiana authority to check.
Unlike the new privacy act, the breach law carries its own private right of action: a civil action may be brought to recover actual damages resulting from a failure to disclose a breach in a timely manner . Untimely notice is therefore not just a regulatory problem in Louisiana — it is a litigation exposure.
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F.1 La. R.S. 51:3074(C)Any person or agency that owns or licenses computerized data containing personal information must notify Louisiana residents whose personal information was, or is reasonably believed to have been, acquired by an unauthorized person.
Any person that owns or licenses computerized data that includes personal information, or any agency that owns or licenses computerized data that includes personal information, shall, following discovery of a breach in the security of the system containing such data, notify any resident of the state whose personal information was, or is reasonably believed to have been, acquired by an unauthorized person.
See La. R.S. 51:3074(C).
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F.2 La. R.S. 51:3074(E)Breach notice must be made in the most expedient time possible and without unreasonable delay, and no later than sixty days from discovery of the breach.
The notification required pursuant to Subsections C and D of this Section shall be made in the most expedient time possible and without unreasonable delay but not later than sixty days from the discovery of the breach, consistent with the legitimate needs of law enforcement, as provided in Subsection F of this Section, or any measures necessary to determine the scope of the breach, prevent further disclosures, and restore the reasonable integrity of the data system.
See La. R.S. 51:3074(E).
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F.3 La. R.S. 51:3073(4)Personal information under the breach law is a resident's name combined with an unencrypted, unredacted Social Security number, driver's license or state ID number, financial-account or card number with access code, passport number, or biometric data.
"Personal information" means the first name or first initial and last name of an individual resident of this state in combination with any one or more of the following data elements, when the name or the data element is not encrypted or redacted: (i) Social security number. (ii) Driver's license number or state identification card number. (iii) Account number, credit or debit card number, in combination with any required security code, access code, or password that would permit access to an individual's financial account. (iv) Passport number. (v) Biometric data.
See La. R.S. 51:3073(4)(a).
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F.4 La. R.S. 51:3074(A)Any person conducting business in Louisiana that owns or licenses computerized personal information must implement and maintain reasonable security procedures and practices appropriate to the nature of the information.
Any person that conducts business in the state or that owns or licenses computerized data that includes personal information, or any agency that owns or licenses computerized data that includes personal information, shall implement and maintain reasonable security procedures and practices appropriate to the nature of the information to protect the personal information from unauthorized access, destruction, use, modification, or disclosure.
See La. R.S. 51:3074(A).
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F.5 La. R.S. 51:3074(B)Any person conducting business in Louisiana, or owning or licensing computerized personal information, must take reasonable steps to destroy no-longer-retained records containing personal information by making it unreadable or undecipherable.
Any person that conducts business in the state or that owns or licenses computerized data that includes personal information, or any agency that owns or licenses computerized data that includes personal information shall take all reasonable steps to destroy or arrange for the destruction of the records within its custody or control containing personal information that is no longer to be retained by the person or business by shredding, erasing, or otherwise modifying the personal information in the records to make it unreadable or undecipherable through any means.
See La. R.S. 51:3074(B).
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F.6 La. R.S. 51:3074(I)Notice is not required if a reasonable investigation determines there is no reasonable likelihood of harm to Louisiana residents — but the written determination must be retained for five years and produced to the Attorney General on written request.
Notification as provided in this Section shall not be required if after a reasonable investigation, the person or business determines that there is no reasonable likelihood of harm to the residents of this state. The person or business shall retain a copy of the written determination and supporting documentation for five years from the date of discovery of the breach of the security system. If requested in writing, the person or business shall send a copy of the written determination and supporting documentation to the attorney general no later than thirty days from the date of receipt of the request.
See La. R.S. 51:3074(I).
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F.7 La. R.S. 51:3077The breach-notification chapter took effect only upon the Attorney General's promulgation of implementing rules.
The provisions of this Chapter shall not take effect until rules are promulgated by the attorney general's office.
See La. R.S. 51:3077.
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F.8 La. R.S. 51:3075The breach law provides a private civil action to recover actual damages resulting from an untimely failure to disclose a breach.
A civil action may be instituted to recover actual damages resulting from the failure to disclose in a timely manner to a person that there has been a breach of the security system resulting in the disclosure of a person's personal information.
See La. R.S. 51:3075.
Who enforces Louisiana's new privacy law, and what are the penalties?
The Attorney General alone enforces the LDPA . The act supplies no freestanding remedies of its own — instead, every violation constitutes an unfair and deceptive trade practice under LUTPA, expressly excluding the private rights of action in La. R.S. 51:1409 and 1409.1 . The enforcement toolkit is therefore LUTPA's: injunctions issued without bond and a civil penalty the court may impose, with the statute authorizing up to five thousand dollars per violation where the court finds the practice was entered into with the intent to defraud .
The cure period is unusually short-lived. From January 1, 2027 through July 31, 2027, the Attorney General must give thirty days' written notice identifying the alleged violations before opening an investigation, and may not proceed if the business cures within thirty days, certifies the cure in writing, documents it, and adjusts internal policy . After July 31, 2027, no statutory cure right remains — so the grace window covers only the first seven months of the act's life, and compliance programs should be built for the post-sunset posture rather than the opening one. Money recovered through the Attorney General's enforcement is earmarked for consumer protection efforts and education .
Today's enforcement hook works the same way at the structural level: a violation of the breach-notification chapter constitutes an unfair act or practice under LUTPA , putting breach-law failures in the same Attorney General toolkit now that LDPA violations will join in 2027.
Open statutory question — monetary exposure under the LDPA. The act names no dollar penalty of its own; it routes violations into LUTPA, whose civil-penalty text authorizes the five-thousand-dollar-per-violation figure where the court finds the practice was entered into with the intent to defraud . One reading is that the Attorney General can obtain civil penalties for LDPA violations generally, with the stated cap tied to fraud findings; another is that a non-fraudulent violation exposes a business only to injunctive relief, not a dollar penalty. No court has resolved which reading controls, and the answer is the single biggest unknown for modeling LDPA risk.
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G.1 La. R.S. 51:1780.5(A)The Attorney General has the exclusive duty to enforce the LDPA.
The attorney general shall enforce the provisions of this Chapter.
See La. R.S. 51:1780.5(A) (Act No. 502 of 2026, eff. Jan. 1, 2027).
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G.2 La. R.S. 51:1780.5(C)Every LDPA violation constitutes an unfair and deceptive trade practice under LUTPA — but the act expressly excludes LUTPA's private rights of action, and enforcement proceeds are earmarked for consumer protection.
Any violation of the provisions of this Chapter shall constitute an unfair and deceptive trade practice pursuant to the Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law, R.S. 51:1401 et seq., excluding private rights of action as provided in R.S. 51:1409 and 1409.1. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, any monies received related to the attorney general's enforcement of this Chapter shall be used by the attorney general for consumer protection efforts or to promote consumer protection and education.
See La. R.S. 51:1780.5(C) (Act No. 502 of 2026, eff. Jan. 1, 2027).
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G.4 La. R.S. 51:1780.5(D)From January 1, 2027 through July 31, 2027 only, the Attorney General must give 30 days' written notice before investigating and may not proceed if the business cures, certifies the cure in writing, documents it, and adjusts internal policy — a cure right that sunsets after July 31, 2027.
Beginning January 1, 2027, and ending July 31, 2027, before bringing an action pursuant to this Section, the attorney general shall notify a person in writing, not later than the thirtieth calendar day before initiating an investigation, identifying the specific provisions of this Chapter the attorney general alleges is being violated. The attorney general shall not initiate an investigation against the person if the person does all of the following: (1) Cures the alleged violation identified by the attorney general within the thirty-day period. (2) Provides the attorney general with a written statement that the person cured the alleged violation. (3) Submits supportive documentation to the attorney general to show how the privacy violation was cured. (4) Changes are made to the internal policy, if necessary, to ensure that no such further violations occur.
See La. R.S. 51:1780.5(D) (Act No. 502 of 2026, eff. Jan. 1, 2027).
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G.3 La. R.S. 51:1407LUTPA authorizes the Attorney General to obtain injunctions without bond, and a court-imposed civil penalty whose stated $5,000-per-violation figure is textually tied to a finding that the practice was entered into with the intent to defraud.
These courts are authorized to issue temporary restraining orders or preliminary and permanent injunctions to restrain and enjoin violations of this Chapter, and such restraining orders or injunctions shall be issued without bond. B. In addition to the remedies provided herein, the attorney general may request and the court may impose a civil penalty against any person found by the court to have engaged in any method, act, or practice in Louisiana declared to be unlawful under this Chapter. In the event the court finds the method, act, or practice to have been entered into with the intent to defraud, the court has the authority to impose a penalty not to exceed five thousand dollars for each violation.
See La. R.S. 51:1407(A)–(B).
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G.5 La. R.S. 51:3074(J)A violation of the breach-notification chapter constitutes an unfair act or practice under LUTPA, putting breach failures in the Attorney General's LUTPA toolkit today.
A violation of a provision of this Chapter shall constitute an unfair act or practice pursuant to R.S. 51:1405(A).
See La. R.S. 51:3074(J).
Can a consumer sue your business in Louisiana over privacy?
Not under the new privacy act — the LDPA routes its violations into LUTPA while expressly excluding the private rights of action in La. R.S. 51:1409 and 1409.1, leaving enforcement to the Attorney General alone . But Louisiana consumers are not without a courtroom path. The breach-notification law retains its own private right of action for actual damages caused by an untimely failure to disclose a breach , and LUTPA itself gives any person who suffers an ascertainable loss from an unfair or deceptive practice an individual action for actual damages — trebled where the practice continued knowingly after Attorney General notice, with attorney fees .
The architecture is worth stating plainly because the pieces cut in different directions. For the duties the LDPA creates in 2027 — notices, consent, contracts, rights handling — exposure is regulatory only. For breach response, exposure is both regulatory and private: a late notification can draw an Attorney General action and a damages suit by affected residents at the same time. And for conduct that qualifies as an unfair or deceptive trade practice independent of the LDPA — a privacy policy that misrepresents actual practices, for example — LUTPA's general private action remains available today, subject to its one-year prescriptive period and its bar on representative actions. A marketing-channel wrinkle adds modest tail risk: where deceptive information is knowingly sent to an elder person or a person with a disability by telephone, email, or text, a court may add damages of up to ten thousand dollars per violation on top of the LUTPA recovery .
The durable takeaway for risk modeling: Louisiana has no omnibus-privacy class-action exposure on the horizon, but breach-notification timeliness and privacy-statement accuracy both carry genuine private-suit risk under statutes already in force.
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H.1 La. R.S. 51:1780.5(C)The LDPA makes violations LUTPA unfair trade practices while expressly excluding LUTPA's private rights of action, so consumers cannot sue under the act.
Any violation of the provisions of this Chapter shall constitute an unfair and deceptive trade practice pursuant to the Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law, R.S. 51:1401 et seq., excluding private rights of action as provided in R.S. 51:1409 and 1409.1.
See La. R.S. 51:1780.5(C) (Act No. 502 of 2026, eff. Jan. 1, 2027).
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H.2 La. R.S. 51:3075The breach-notification law provides a private civil action to recover actual damages resulting from an untimely failure to disclose a breach — a private right of action the LDPA does not displace.
A civil action may be instituted to recover actual damages resulting from the failure to disclose in a timely manner to a person that there has been a breach of the security system resulting in the disclosure of a person's personal information.
See La. R.S. 51:3075.
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H.3 La. R.S. 51:1409LUTPA gives any person who suffers an ascertainable loss from an unfair or deceptive practice an individual (non-representative) action for actual damages, trebled where the practice was knowingly used after Attorney General notice, plus attorney fees and costs.
Any person who suffers any ascertainable loss of money or movable property, corporeal or incorporeal, as a result of the use or employment by another person of an unfair or deceptive method, act, or practice declared unlawful by R.S. 51:1405, may bring an action individually but not in a representative capacity to recover actual damages. If the court finds the unfair or deceptive method, act, or practice was knowingly used, after being put on notice by the attorney general, the court shall award three times the actual damages sustained. In the event that damages are awarded under this Section, the court shall award to the person bringing such action reasonable attorney fees and costs.
See La. R.S. 51:1409(A).
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H.4 La. R.S. 51:1409.1On top of LUTPA damages, a court may award up to $10,000 per violation where deceptive information is knowingly sent to an elder person or person with a disability by telephone, email, or text-message marketing.
In addition to any damages to which a person is entitled pursuant to R.S. 51:1409, the court may award damages not to exceed ten thousand dollars per violation if a person knowingly sends deceptive information to any elder person or person with a disability, as those terms are defined in R.S. 51:1402, who suffers damage or injury as a result of an offense or violation described in this Chapter through marketing by telephone, electronic mail, or text messaging.
See La. R.S. 51:1409.1(B).