Data privacy legislation can help my business thrive
Data privacy legislation can help my business thrive
Publish Date: 2026-03-24 01:00:00
Source Domain: www.bangordailynews.com
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E. Mathias Kamin III is a business owner, hard cider maker and community organizer who is collecting signatures to run as an independent for District 12 in the Maine House of Representatives.
Nearly two years ago, I opened the doors of my small business, Bon Vent Cider in Hancock. The vision of owning a cidery first came to me in 2003, while I was studying abroad and met cidermakers who had dedicated their lives to the craft. I spent most of my adult life gaining the skills, relationships, and capital necessary to take the leap into entrepreneurship. Today, beyond serving cider, Bon Vent hosts open music jam sessions, local music and arts performances, and community events.
Advertising has helped our success. Generous news coverage in outlets like the Bangor Daily News and WABI 5, underwriting on WERU Community Radio, and word of mouth have spread our name and brought people through our doors. I have also paid for ads on Facebook and Instagram. In all honesty, advertising on social media is fairly expensive, and I haven’t seen much return as far as I can tell. That is precisely why I support LD 1822. I believe it will improve the power of small businesses to grow through online advertising.
In online advertising today, ad tech companies receive a deluge of data. This deluge is so vast and varied that separating the chaff from the wheat is simply impossible. LD 1822’s data minimization provision, the bill’s core feature, promises to fix that. LD 1822 would prevent the businesses it regulates (those who collect data about more than 35,000 Mainers) from collecting data they do not need for the good or the service they are providing. In other words, under LD 1822, the data that businesses can collect will be connected to what the consumer wants. I believe this will lead…