Websites rely on dozens of scripts, trackers, and third-party tools to function. Many of them interact with personal data in ways teams do not actively monitor once deployed.
Under the New Jersey Data Privacy and Security Act (NJDPA), your organization is responsible for how you collect, share, and protect personal data, even when that activity happens through third parties in the browser.
If personal data is mishandled, even if you didn’t intend to, your business is accountable, with fines up to $10,000 for the first violation and up to US$20,000 for subsequent violations.
Since lack of intent or awareness does not change that obligation, here is an NJDPA compliance guide breaking down the common requirements, exemptions, and everything in between.
TL;DR
- The NJDPA sets rules for how organizations collect, use, and secure the personal data of New Jersey residents.
- Consumers are granted expanded rights to access, correct, delete, and export their personal information that organizations must honor with a 45 day window.
- Website data collection and third-party scripts are major blind spots where unmonitored activity can trigger compliance failures.
- Continuous client-side monitoring tools help organizations minimize data collection on their website and secure sensitive data from skimming attacks.
Does NJDPA apply to my organization?
Yes, if you deal with personal data of New Jersey residents at any real scale.
The New Jersey Data Privacy Act applies to organizations:
- Running businesses in New Jersey
- Targeting New Jersey residents
- Controlling or processing their personal data
There is no minimum revenue requirement. A small company can fall under the law just as easily as a big enterprise.
Applicability depends on data volume, not company size. Your organization is covered if it meets either of these thresholds in a calendar year:
- You control or process the personal data of 100,000 or more New Jersey residents, excluding data handled only to complete payment transactions
- You control or process the personal data of 25,000 or more New Jersey residents while deriving revenue from data sales.
- Generate revenue and other financial benefits of 25% to 50% from selling personal data
The law is not limited to consumer-facing brands. SaaS companies, B2B platforms, marketplaces, and service providers can all fall within scope if they meet the data thresholds.
The NJDPA also applies to for-profit and nonprofit organizations, a rarity among privacy rights by state comparison.
Exemptions of NJDPA
The NJDPA does not apply to every organization or every type of data. Some entities are fully exempt, while others are exempt only for specific data sets.
The law does not apply to:
- State and local government bodies
- Financial institutions and data covered under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA)
- Covered entities and business associates regulated by HIPAA
- Insurance institutions and data subject to regulation under New Jersey insurance laws
Even if your business is otherwise covered, the NJDPA does not apply to personal data already regulated under federal laws, including:
- Health data governed by HIPAA
- Credit, employment, and background check data covered by FCRA
- Education records protected under FERPA
- Personal data processed under the Driver’s Privacy Protection Act (DPPA)
- Data used for just employment and HR related purposes
What is the New Jersey Data Privacy and Security Act?
The New Jersey Data Privacy Act (NJDPA), is a state privacy law that regulates how businesses collect, use, share, and store personal data of New Jersey residents. It:
- Gives New Jersey residents the right to access, correct, delete, and copy their personal data
- Limits how businesses collect and share personal data, especially for ads and profiling
- Holds organizations responsible in case of any breach
- Mandates reasonable data security practices to reduce misuse and exposure
Penalties for non-compliance with NJDPA
Non-compliance with the NJDPA can incur fines up to $10,000 for the first violation and up to US$20,000 for subsequent violations. Plus, it gives consumers the right to sue for data breaches and non-compliance. Legal penalties aside, the reputational damage is often the hardest part to recover from.
Why the client-side has become a privacy risk surface
The client side has become a risk for privacy frameworks because businesses rely on third-party scripts to improve the user experience of websites and gather intelligence to drive growth. Analytics tools, ad tracking pixels, chatbots, and and other development libraries execute in the browser and can access user interactions as soon as the page loads.
This activity stays outside server-side controls. Your backend may be well monitored, but browser-based code can change behavior, load new dependencies, or send data elsewhere without a notification.
JavaScript is designed to be dynamic. Vendors may update scripts, add new endpoints, and expand data collection without clear notice.
Third-party scripts as an NJDPA compliance risk
Third-party scripts often collect and send personal data in sneaky ways. When a page loads, a script can read URLs, cookies, form fields, and user actions.
Disclosure and consent often fall out of sync, even if you don’t intend it to. Your privacy policy may cover certain tools, but scripts can behave differently in practice. A cookie banner may appear after data collection has already started. When disclosures and real behavior do not match, compliance goes out of the window.
Client-side attacks as an NJDPA data breach risk
Malicious scripts and compromised third-party tools can record keystrokes, form inputs, cookies, session tokens, and browsing activity. Attackers can inject code into your pages and exploit vulnerabilities in scripts you trust.
Security failures often overlap with privacy violations under the NJDPA, like:
- Stolen form inputs or personal details collected without consent
- Leaked cookies and session data that reveal user identity
- Unauthorized data sharing with third parties
- Scripts and plugins storing sensitive data beyond what you disclosed
Failing to protect client-side data puts you at risk of fines and legal action. Meeting state privacy laws website requirements helps reduce exposure and aligns your business with NJDPA expectations.
Are cookie banners enough for NJDPA compliance?
Cookie banners alone are not enough to comply with the NJDPA. They alert users to data collection, but they can’t stop scripts from sending personal data before consent or control how vendors handle it. You still need to track what data is collected, who sees it, and how long it is stored.
While security measures aren’t explicitly outlined in US state privacy laws, the majority of lawsuits against corporations cite a lack of reasonable safeguards. Following cookie banners with proper technical controls, monitoring, and vendor management aligns with U.S. privacy laws and helps reduce risk. But simply showing a banner leaves you exposed to client-side attacks.
Where NJDPA compliance failures happen
Many NJDPA compliance issues come from gaps you might not notice every day. Even when you think your privacy setup is solid, third-party scripts/trackers and real-time data flows can pose hidden risks.
Some common failure points include:
- Not honoring consumer rights at the script level. Users may request access, correction, or deletion, but scripts continue to collect data.
- Lack of client-side monitoring and browser-side data collection tracking. Vendors can gather and share personal data without your knowledge.
- Failure to implement reasonable security safeguards. Weak controls can let personal data leak or be stolen.
- Inaccurate and incomplete disclosures. Your privacy policy may not match what scripts and tools actually collect.
- Lack of visibility into real-time data flows and script behavior changes
- Inability to detect or respond to unauthorized script injections or modifications
- Poor vendor accountability when third-party scripts update without review
- Insufficient documentation to prove ongoing compliance
- Overreliance on point-in-time audits instead of continuous monitoring
Using a U.S. state privacy law compliance automation tool can help you spot these gaps. It gives you ongoing visibility into client-side risk and helps ensure personal data is handled in a compliant way.
NJDPA key requirements organizations should understand
NJDPA focuses on how you collect, protect, disclose, and respond to personal data in everyday business operations. So, focus on:
Consumer rights and consent enforcement
You must respect the rights New Jersey residents have over their personal data. They can:
- Ask you to confirm whether you hold their data
- Get a copy of it
- Correct errors
- Delete it
- Export it in a portable form
You must respond within 45 days when someone makes a request. The law also requires affirmative consent before processing sensitive data or using personal data for purposes not related to the reason it was collected.
Data minimization and purpose limitation
You must limit what you collect to what is adequate, relevant, and necessary for the purpose you told the consumer about. You cannot process personal data for unrelated purposes or profit unless the consumer has consented.
Transparency and accurate disclosures
Your privacy notice must be clear and accessible on your website. It should describe:
- What categories of data you collect
- Why you collect it
- Who you share it with
It should also explain how you will notify consumers of any material changes to your privacy practices.
Vendor and third-party oversight
If you work with processors or third-party vendors that handle personal data on your behalf, you must manage those relationships. Contracts should reflect how personal data is handled.
You may also need assessments for processing that could present higher risks to consumers. Plus, for the first 18 months, in case of any violation, you get a 30-day cure provision to rectify them after receiving a notice.
Official resources and government links
Here are some official sources you should go through:
NJDPA timelines
- January 16, 2024: Governor Phil Murphy signed the Senate Bill 332, the New Jersey Data Protection Act (NJDPA), into law
- January 15, 2025: The NJDPA came into effect.
- July 15, 2026: Deadline for the 30‑day cure period for the first 18 months after January 15, 2025.
Why NJDPA was introduced
Data is everywhere, and so are the risks. New Jersey introduced the NJDPA because:
- Rising data breaches and leaks put personal information at risk
- Heavy reliance on third-party tools that collect and share data without explicit consent and visibility
- Consumers expect more transparency and control over their data
- Inconsistent privacy rules across states that create confusion for businesses
- Businesses don’t always track how vendors handle shared data
- The need for reasocnable security safeguards to protect personal data
- Gaps in the previous website compliance U.S. privacy laws left consumer rights unclear
How cside helps organizations achieve NJDPA compliance
Transparency into client-side data flows
- cside shows exactly which scripts collect personal data, what data they gather, and where it goes. You get all the necessary insight to maintain accurate disclosures and keep privacy notices up to date.
Data minimization at the script level
- Scripts often change over time and start collecting more information than intended. Our U.S. state law privacy compliance software highlights when a script exceeds its intended scope, maintaining focused and limited data collection.
Reasonable security safeguards
- cside’s AI assisted client-side security engine detects malicious and tampered scripts, suspicious code changes, and data-skimming activity in the browser. This lets you apply reasonable security safeguards to protect personal data and reduce the risk of breaches.
Validate third-party behavior
- Continuous monitoring and risk scoring track how third-party vendors handle data in real-time. You can catch deviations from expected behavior and prevent unintentional violations of your privacy obligations.
Audit-ready logs and evidence
- cside keeps records of processing activities and every script payload in a dashboard with historical logs. This gives you the evidence needed to demonstrate NJDPA compliance during audits or investigations.
