Confusion over a sweeping new state law regulating the sale of consumer data — and its impact on New Jersey political campaigns — persisted through the weekend after the Attorney General’s office signaled a different approach than the one outlined by the Sherrill administration on Friday.
“Consistent with our office’s longstanding practice, we will continue to evaluate all enforcement matters on a case-by-case basis, taking into account the facts and the law in every case,” said Michael Symons, the attorney general’s press secretary.
Gov. Mikie Sherrill signed the measure on June 30, just two days after it was introduced and the same day the Senate and Assembly gave it final approval.
The statement does not explicitly say the state will suspend enforcement of the law, despite a senior Sherrill administration official’s late Friday representation that regulators would not pursue penalties while the Legislature works to address unintended consequences officials have acknowledged. Several campaign insiders told the New Jersey Globe that data brokers need an exemption when it comes to political campaign work.
Instead, the latest statement adds to the uncertainty. The state Division of Consumer Affairs issued a hard-to-find, legalistic alert late Friday saying it would not require data brokers to register until April 2027, but stopped short of saying it would not prosecute data brokers for violating the law.
Now, the Attorney General’s Office is directing data brokers to the Division of Consumer Affairs for additional guidance.
“We urge anyone with questions about our office’s official position to consult the alert issued by the Division of Consumer Affairs,” Symons said.
The weekend statement leaves unanswered whether vendors can rely on that guidance before the Legislature adopts technical changes, extending uncertainty for companies weighing whether they remain exposed to potentially significant civil penalties under the law as currently written.
Among the new law’s most consequential provisions is a prohibition on selling or licensing certain categories of “sensitive data,” including information revealing race or ethnicity, religious beliefs, health conditions, sexual orientation, citizenship or immigration status, transgender status, genetic or biometric information, children’s data, and precise geolocation. Violations can carry civil penalties of up to $50,000 for each record sold, offered for sale, or licensed.
The law immediately raised alarms throughout New Jersey’s political community because many voter-targeting products rely on demographic modeling that incorporates race, ethnicity, religion, and geographic information.
Late last week, several major data vendors warned they were prepared to stop doing business in New Jersey rather than risk liability under the new law. Among them was NGP VAN, the official DNC voter file platform used by the New Jersey Democratic State Committee, creating the prospect that Democratic campaigns could temporarily lose access to a critical organizing and voter-contact tool. Other vendors serving campaigns from both parties also expressed concern.
The Sherrill administration sought to calm those fears by suggesting the Division of Consumer Affairs would suspend enforcement while technical fixes are worked out to clarify that the law was not intended to disrupt political campaigns or other legitimate uses of consumer data.
Several Republican legislators mocked the response on social media.
