When is a data protection assessment required in Minnesota?

Last verified: May 28, 2026

Answer

Minnesota HF-4757 requires controllers to conduct data protection assessments before processing personal data in ways that present a reasonably foreseeable risk of harm to consumers. Mandatory triggers include: automated profiling that produces legal or significant effects, processing sensitive personal data, and AI-based decisions in employment, insurance, lending, or healthcare. Assessments must weigh the benefits of processing against the risks and document risk mitigation measures.

Applicable Regulations

HF-4757

Minnesota Consumer Data Privacy Act (MCDPA)

enacted

Enacted May 24, 2024 as Chapter 121 of the 2024 Minnesota Session Laws, codified at Minnesota Statutes Chapter 325O. Effective July 31, 2025 with full enforcement (no cure period) from February 1, 2026. Applies to controllers and processors of personal data of Minnesota residents meeting the thresholds below. Grants consumers rights to access, correct, delete, and port personal data; to opt out of targeted advertising, data sales, and profiling; and — uniquely among state laws — to question the result of a profiling decision, receive the reason for that outcome, and request reevaluation if inaccurate data was used. Requires data protection assessments before processing personal data for targeted advertising, data sales, sensitive data, and profiling with heightened risk. Enforced exclusively by the Minnesota Attorney General; no private right of action.

Key Requirements

Core Consumer Rights Right to access, correct, delete, and obtain a portable copy of personal data. Right to know which third parties received data sales.
Opt-Out of Profiling and Targeted Advertising Consumers may opt out of processing for targeted advertising, sale of personal data, and profiling in furtherance of decisions that produce legal or similarly significant effects.
Profiling Challenge and Explanation Right When profiling produces legal or similarly significant effects, consumers may question the result, receive the reason for the outcome, and request reevaluation if inaccurate data was used. Covered decisions include housing, insurance, education, employment, healthcare, and financial services.
Data Protection Assessment Controllers must conduct and document data protection assessments before processing for targeted advertising, data sales, sensitive data, profiling with heightened risk, and other high-risk processing activities.
Privacy Notice Requirements Controllers must provide a privacy notice with a hyperlink labeled 'Your Privacy Rights' disclosing data categories, purposes, third-party disclosures, and opt-out mechanisms.
Attorney General Enforcement Only the Minnesota AG may enforce. A 30-day cure period applied through January 31, 2026; from February 1, 2026, no cure period — violations subject to immediate civil penalty action.
Effective: 2025-07-31 Penalties: Civil penalties of up to $7,500 per violation, enforceable by the Minnesota Attorney General. No private right of action. Court may also award injunctive relief and litigation costs. The 30-day cure period expired January 31, 2026; full enforcement without cure rights began February 1, 2026.

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Related Questions

  • Can Minnesota consumers opt out of AI profiling? Yes. Minnesota HF-4757 gives consumers the right to opt out of automated profiling decisions that produce legal or similarly significant effects. Controllers must honor opt-out requests within a reasonable time frame and may not deny goods, services, or employment opportunities solely because a consumer exercised this right. The opt-out right applies to profiling used in employment, lending, insurance, and similar high-stakes contexts.
  • Does Colorado require AI impact assessments? No longer. SB 26-189 (signed 2026-05-14) repealed and reenacted Colorado's AI Act, eliminating the impact-assessment requirement entirely. Colorado now instead requires deployers of automated decision-making technology (ADMT) to: give consumers clear interaction notice, disclose adverse consequential decisions within 30 days, allow correction of incorrect personal data, and provide meaningful human review and reconsideration. The statute formally takes effect 2026-08-12, but all compliance obligations — for deployers and developers alike — begin 2027-01-01.