What South Carolina’s Digital Choice Act Means for Data Portability and Privacy

South Carolina lawmakers have just proposed legislation that could significantly affect how social media companies handle consumer data. It’s called the Digital Choice Act and it focuses on data access, portability, and interoperability between platforms. For privacy professionals and legal teams, this will be one to watch. 

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• Proposed Legislation in South Carolina: The “Digital Choice Act” 

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• Ryan Ellard 

Transcript

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Host 1:
South Carolina lawmakers have just proposed legislation that could significantly affect how social media companies handle consumer data. It’s called the Digital Choice Act and it focuses on data access, portability, and interoperability between platforms. For privacy professionals and legal teams, this will be one to watch.

Host 2:
That’s right, and South Carolina lawmakers are clearly responding to ongoing concerns about how social media companies collect, control, and monetize personal data. Even though the bills are still pending, they give us a sense of where regulatory expectations may be heading. 

Host 1:
Let’s start with where the legislation actually stands. There are two bills currently pending before the South Carolina General Assembly. One is House Bill 4666, which is sitting with the House Judiciary Committee. The other is Senate Bill 932, and that one’s before the Senate’s Committee on Labor, Commerce and Industry.

Host 2:
While the House and Senate bills aren’t word‑for‑word identical, they’re substantially similar in substance. Both are drafted as amendments to Title 37 of the South Carolina Code, creating a new Chapter 31 called the Digital Choice Act. So regardless of which version moves forward, the overall structure and intent remain consistent. This should make it easier for companies to start thinking about potential compliance scenarios now.

Host 1:
Substantively, the bills focus heavily on social media companies. A big part of the legislation would require platforms to provide users with their personal data upon request. But it goes beyond basic account information and gets into the social graph.

Host 2:
Right. And for those unfamiliar with the term, a social graph is a user’s social connections, the content they’ve created, and their responses to other users’ content. In other words, it’s not just what you post, but how you interact across the platform. That data would need to be provided in a format that’s portable, readily usable, and easy to transfer to another controller.

Host 1:
That portability requirement ties directly into the legislation’s emphasis on interoperability. The bills would require social media companies to create transparent, third‑party accessible interfaces that allow data to move between platforms at the user’s request. Importantly, companies wouldn’t be allowed to discriminate between competing social media services.

Host 2:
The House bill spells out the concern pretty clearly in its legislative findings. Lawmakers point to what they see as a pattern of platforms restricting interoperability to keep users locked into a single ecosystem. This legislation is clearly trying to lower those switching costs. At the same time, it requires companies to safeguard privacy and security when data is transferred through these interfaces.

Host 1:
Another notable feature of the Digital Choice Act is how it handles consumer rights. In the final sections of the bills, the language shifts away from “social media companies” and instead applies to a broader category called “controllers.” That’s defined as any person or entity doing business in the state that determines how and why personal data is processed.

Host 2:
Those consumer rights will sound familiar if you’ve been tracking privacy laws in other states. Consumers would have the right to confirm whether their data is being processed, to access and obtain a copy of it, and to correct inaccuracies. They’d also have the right to delete personal data they provided and to opt out of targeted advertising and the sale of personal data.

Host 1:
So while the front half of the legislation clearly targets social media platforms, the back half has a broader reach. That could potentially pull in other businesses that might not initially think this law applies to them. It’s an important nuance for privacy counsel to pay attention to.

Host 2:
That broader definition of “controller” means companies should be careful not to dismiss the bill as social‑media‑only regulation. If passed in its current form, it could create new compliance obligations across multiple industries. And as we’ve seen elsewhere, those obligations can expand over time.

Host 1:
When it comes to enforcement, the Digital Choice Act assigns responsibility to South Carolina’s Department of Consumer Affairs. The Attorney General would provide legal advice and serve as counsel when requested. The Department’s Director would have authority to impose administrative fines.

Host 2:
Those fines could reach up to $2,500 per violation, and the Department could also pursue injunctive relief, disgorgement, civil penalties, and damages. One thing the bill does not include, however, is a private right of action. That limits consumer lawsuits but still leaves meaningful regulatory exposure for companies.

Host 1:
Even though these bills are still pending and could change, the takeaway is pretty clear. States continue to experiment with new ways to regulate digital platforms, especially around data portability and consumer control. Waiting until a law is finalized can put companies on the defensive.

Host 2:
Exactly. For social media companies, privacy professionals, and legal teams, this is a moment to plan rather than react. The penalties for non‑compliance can add up quickly, and the operational changes required—especially around interoperability—aren’t trivial. Keeping an eye on legislation like South Carolina’s Digital Choice Act now can save a lot of trouble later.

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