Maryland passes pair of strong privacy bills

Wu Tang Clan ain’t nothing to mess with. And when it comes to online privacy, neither is the state of Maryland.

Two sweeping privacy bills passed in the state’s legislature last weekend: the Maryland Online Data Privacy Act, which would restrict how companies collect and use consumers’ data, and the Maryland Kids Code, which would prohibit online platforms from tracking people under 18, and using tactics designed to keep them glued to their devices.

The fate of the bills is now up to Gov. Wes Moore, a Democrat. Moore hasn’t indicated how he’s leaning toward either bill.

Caitriona Fitzgerald, deputy director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), told Marketing Brew the Maryland Online Data Privacy Act would be the strongest comprehensive privacy law among the states with such legislation; if it becomes law, Maryland would be the 16th state to protect consumer privacy. The bill contains strong data minimization rules, Fitzgerald said, and existing privacy laws in several other states have fewer restrictions.

“Companies can only collect what’s reasonably necessary for the product or service I’m asking for,” Fitzgerald said. “If I download a weather app, they can use my location to give me the weather; that’s necessary for the product or service I’m asking for. But they can’t sell my data, my location data, to a dozen data brokers. That’s not necessary for the service.”

Maryland’s bill is a “gamechanger,” she said, in part because other states may follow suit with legislation that has more stringent consumer protections.

“Big Tech tries to get state legislators to feel like no one will be able to access the internet if they pass this strong law,” Fitzgerald said. “It certainly helps to have a strong law pass in a state like Maryland and show states the sky didn’t fall.”

The Maryland Kids Code, meanwhile, would mandate that particular video game and social media services automatically enable the strongest possible privacy settings for younger users, in addition to prohibiting platforms from profiling minors and collecting their exact locations, according to the New York Times. If passed, the code would also prohibit auto-playing videos, notifications, and other tactics designed to keep kids online.

Federal movement: Any potential legislation from Maryland could end up becoming moot if the American Privacy Rights Act (APRA), a bipartisan data privacy proposal unveiled over the weekend by Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), becomes law.