California Governor Gavin Newsom has added his signature to a bill that strengthens privacy protections for individuals seeking or receiving healthcare services from a family planning center. Prior to the update, California law prohibited a person or business from collecting, using, disclosing, or retaining the personal information of a person located at or within the geolocation of a family planning center, other than as necessary to provide the goods or services requested by that person.
Assembly Bill 45 (AB-45) strengthens privacy protections by prohibiting the collection, use, disclosure, sale, sharing, or retention of personal information of a natural person located at or within the precise geolocation of a family planning center, other than to provide goods and services to an individual, as requested. The requirements do not apply to HIPAA-regulated entities or their business associates, provided that the business associate is contractually obliged to comply with all state and federal laws.
The new law extends the scope of existing law to cover any person, including a natural person, association, proprietorship, corporation, trust, foundation, partnership, or any other organization or group of people acting in concert. The new law uses the same definitions for sale, personal information, and precise geolocation as the California Consumer Protection Act (CCPA), although the definitions apply to all persons. A family planning center is defined as a facility categorized as a family planning center by the North American Industry Classification System adopted by the United States Census Bureau, which includes, but is not limited to, clinics that provide reproductive healthcare services.
The new law makes it unlawful to geofence an entity that provides in-person healthcare services for certain purposes and prohibits the selling or sharing of information with a third party to geofence an entity that provides healthcare services. Healthcare services are defined as “any service provided to a natural person of a medical, surgical, psychiatric, therapeutic, diagnostic, mental health, behavioral health, preventative, rehabilitative, supportive, consultative, referral, or prescribing nature.”
Geofencing is specifically prohibited for the purpose of identifying or tracking an individual seeking or receiving healthcare services, collecting personal information from a person seeking, receiving, or providing healthcare services, sending notifications to a person related to their personal information or healthcare services, and sending advertisements to an individual related to their personal information or healthcare services. There are exceptions to the geofencing restrictions. The owner of the facility is permitted to geofence its own location, geofencing is permitted for research purposes that comply with federal regulations, and geofencing is permitted by labor organizations, although consent must be obtained from individuals if the geofencing results in the collection of names or personal information. Personally identifiable research records of individuals seeking healthcare services are protected and may not be released in response to a subpoena or request made pursuant to other states’ laws that interfere with a person’s rights under the California Reproductive Privacy Act.
There is a limited private cause of action in AB-45, which allows individuals and entities aggrieved by a violation of the provisions of AB-45 to sue for damages, up to a maximum of three times the actual damages, in addition to expenses, costs, and reasonable attorneys’ fees. The California Attorney General will enforce the new law and can impose penalties of up to $25,000 per violation and injunctive relief. Any collected penalties will be used to fund the California Reproductive Justice and Freedom Fund. The new law takes effect on January 1, 2026.
The post California Strengthens Privacy Protections for Individuals Visiting Family Planning Centers appeared first on The HIPAA Journal.