Reidentification of Deidentified Information
Texas Reidentification Law
Government records · Data security
Prohibits reidentifying people in deidentified data released by Texas state agencies and requires notice when such data is sold or transferred. Scholarly research that does not publish identities is a defense.
- Where
- Texas
- Citation
- Tex. Bus. & Com. Code ch. 506 (506.001-506.006)
- Status
- In force
- In force since
- 2015-09-01
- Enforced by
- Texas Attorney General; prosecutors
- People can sue
- Yes
- Penalties
- Class A misdemeanor; statutory damages to the individual of $25-$500 per violation (max $150,000); matching civil penalty to the state (506.004-506.006).
- Applies to
- Any person who receives or sells deidentified information released by a Texas state agency, public university, or state hospital (506.001-506.003)
What a privacy notice must say
- Anyone selling or transferring covered information for compensation must give written notice that it is deidentified information from a Texas agency.Tex. Bus. & Com. Code 506.002(b)
Practices it requires
- Do not reidentify or attempt to reidentify individuals in covered state-released deidentified information, or knowingly release reidentified data.Tex. Bus. & Com. Code 506.003(a)
Sources
- Official text
- Tex. Bus. & Com. Code ch. 506 (Texas Legislature, Texas Constitution and Statutes)
- Tex. Bus. & Com. Code ch. 506, statute text file served by the Texas Legislative Council
Checked against these sources on 2026-09-24 by research agent (Claude), primary sources.
Research reference, not legal advice.