Maine business groups take aim at data privacy bill headed to state Senate
Maine business groups take aim at data privacy bill headed to state Senate
Publish Date: 2026-03-05 10:16:00
Source Domain: mainebiz.biz
If passed, the bill would limit businesses’ ability to use third-party data and location-based advertising to reach customers, requiring additional consent to do so.
A data privacy bill headed for a vote in the Maine Senate is getting pushback from businesses and trade groups who argue that the measure would create headaches for small companies.
The bill, introduced in 2025 by state Rep. Amy Kuhn, D-Falmouth, would sharply restrict the ability to use third-party data and location-based advertising to reach customers, requiring additional consent to do so.
Supporters include the American Civil Liberties Union of Maine, which argues that the measure would provide “meaningful protections” against “grave threats to democracy and personal autonomy” posed by surveillance, according to written testimony by the organization’s policy director, Michael Kebede.
GLAD Law, a Boston-based nonprofit advocacy group, also supports the bill, calling it a “major step forward in protecting the digital privacy of all Mainers.”
Chambers speak out
Both the Maine State Chamber of Commerce and the Portland Regional Chamber of Commerce oppose the bill, LD 1822, which the Maine House of Representatives passed in February by a vote of 73-65.
A Senate vote has not yet been scheduled but is expected to take place next week.
“Maine businesses are facing rising costs — energy, rent, insurance and labor,” the Maine State Chamber said in an email alert to members this week. “Digital marketing tools are one of the few cost-effective ways small businesses reach new customers and stay competitive.”
The Augusta-based group also said that while it supports protecting sensitive data, LD 1822 “overreaches and would disadvantage Maine employers.”
Along similar lines, the Portland Regional Chamber of Commerce urged its members to press state senators to vote against the “sweeping and restrictive data privacy bill that would make Maine a national outlier and…
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