The Health & Fitness Association strongly opposed the New York Health Information Privacy Act, which it claims would\u2019ve harmed tech companies and gym operators<\/p>\n
The New York Health Information Privacy Act (NYHIPA) is not going into law anytime soon, after Governor Kathy Hochul vetoed the act in what\u2019s being categorized as a major win for fitness companies.<\/p>\n
The bill would have had considerable consequences for businesses across fitness and wellness, including advertisers, mobile app providers, wearable device providers, wellness and nutrition companies and processors handling health information, and, potentially, gyms and studios. <\/p>\n
NYHIPA would have imposed strict requirements on entities that handle health or wellness-related consumer data by requiring apps or websites to obtain affirmative consent from the user to retain their information, as well as separate consent to sell that data to third parties.<\/p>\n
The Health & Fitness Association (HFA) actively lobbied against the bill, claiming that it \u201cwould have created significant operational, financial and compliance challenges for fitness facilities and the companies that provide the connected equipment and technology they rely on.\u201d<\/p>\n
The data encompassed in the bill ranged from an individual\u2019s personal wellness habits and purchase histories to location and payment information that \u201crelates to an individual\u2019s physical or mental health\u201d as well as \u201cany inference drawn or derived about an individual\u2019s physical or mental health that is reasonably linkable to an individual.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe bill\u2019s expansive treatment of fitness technology data would have limited how operators incorporate these tools in their facilities and disrupted equipment, wearable, and technology companies\u2019 ability to sell, support, and scale these solutions across New York,\u201d HFA manager of government affairs Charles Regnante wrote in a letter to members. <\/p>\n
The bill\u2019s sponsor, New York State Senator Liz Krueger (D), fiercely defended the bill and opposed the governor\u2019s veto.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt a time when Americans\u2019 privacy rights are under fierce attack, Governor Hochul has put the interests of big tech over protecting regular New Yorkers,\u201d Krueger said in a statement.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMost of us think our healthcare data is our own, that it\u2019s protected by federal HIPAA laws and is sacrosanct, but that could not be further from the truth,\u201d she continued. \u201cOur health data is being collected, tracked, and sold to third parties by the very companies that are supposed to be taking care of us \u2014 including women\u2019s health apps.\u201d<\/p>\n
HFA argued that the bill\u2019s various layers of affirmative authorization would be both onerous for regulated entities to create and manage, and burdensome for customers to read and use.<\/p>\n
\u201cHFA expects similar legislation to be reintroduced during the 2026 legislative session and will continue engaging lawmakers to pursue a more balanced, practical approach to consumer data privacy that reflects how fitness facilities and industry partners actually operate,\u201d Regnante wrote.<\/p>\n