Deep Links. Your Weekly Dose of Data News.

New Mexico may soon become the 48th state with a data breach notification law, leaving Alabama and South Dakota. Interesting: law includes requirement for "reasonable" data security and requires companies to enforce vendor compliance through contracts; exempts banks, healthcare entities, and New Mexico government agencies.

As if the recent FTC enforcement actions were not proof enough that privacy policies matter -- Illinois' state legislature is considering three bills that would give consumers the right to know what data is being collected about them, protect them from unwanted geo-location tracking, and prohibit unauthorized use of a device's microphone. Speaking of privacy policies, see the three health-related mobile apps agreeing to settle NY Attorney General allegations that they potentially harmed consumers by making misleading claims about the accuracy of the technologies’ results. As part of the settlement, the app developers agree to pay $30,000 and “to amend deceptive statements about their apps and modify their privacy policies to better protect consumers . . . ."

The U.S. Senate passed a resolution that halts FCC efforts to create rules for the way internet service providers use their customers' personal information. FCC chair Ajit Pai's has acknowledged that the FCC and FTC must work together to seek a "comprehensive and uniform regulatory framework." So, it will be interesting to see whether the Senate's action shades a greater acknowledgement for the FTC to be the country's de-facto data protection authority, the Senate's action is simply a screen for fewer privacy protections on the federal level, and/or other federal agencies, such as the SEC and CFPB, will continue to regulate cyber practices.

Can peer-to-peer energy trading become a reality through blockchain? Personally interesting is the Brooklyn micro-grid. My dream is to create a local grid that could operate in parallel to the main grid, and create financial incentives for our community to invest in its own energy production and job creation. HBR article here.

Nice article by Barry Ritholtz via Bloomberg on overcapacity driving weakness in U.S. retail. One aspect of the "overstored" issue is the mismatch between retail trends and the construction cycle. Since its almost axiomatic that today's shoppers are looking for "authentic experiences," and not just an opportunity to buy more "stuff." Boxed CEO Chieh Huang made the same point during a Morris County (NJ) Economic Development Corporation discussion last week. And as traditional retailers continue to put only a fraction of their budgets towards online and mobile, the question is how (not whether) this continues to create opportunities for companies like Boxed, Jet.com, and Amazon as they continue taking on traditional retailers. 

Senators Ed Markey and Richard Blumenthal have reintroduced a law that I affectionately call the "Knight Industries Two Thousand" Act (fans of 80s tv show Knight Rider will get the obvious reference) to keep your car from spying on you or getting hacked (and, err, driving you off a cliff). More on the SPY Car Act here at TechCrunch.