Gov. Janet Mills said Tuesday that she’s skeptical about a strict data privacy bill being debated in the Legislature that has been met with fierce opposition from the state’s business community.
Speaking to reporters after tapping a maple tree on the Blaine House lawn on a warm, spring-like day, Mills said she was concerned about a recent amendment added by state senators exempting political groups from the rules being proposed for businesses.
“I wasn’t excited about it,” Mills said. “It reflects a problem in the bill itself. If the fix is good enough for the political bodies, then the fix ought to be good enough for the businesses affected as well.”
Mills stopped short of threatening to veto the bill, which is opposed by the Maine State Chamber of Commerce. But she urged lawmakers to draft a compromise, and include provisions in a separate bill supported by businesses.
“I’d like to see them come to the middle,” she said. ” I’d like to see an amendment that, preferably, takes the best of both bills.”
LD 1822, sponsored by Rep. Amy Kuhn, D-Falmouth, aims to throttle data brokers, who collect and sell consumer information.
It would mandate that companies can only collect and store the data necessary to provide a good or service. It also would prohibit companies from collecting an individual’s biometric information, such as fingerprints, unless necessary. And it would ban targeted advertising to minors and the sale of their information.
The measure comes amid increased scrutiny of how businesses are using consumer data to feed artificial intelligence models and products.
Opponents have argued that the bill would make it more difficult, if not impossible, for local businesses to provide targeted advertisements to online shoppers — something that is vital to businesses in more rural areas.
The data privacy measure narrowly passed the House last month. But last week, the Senate added an exemption for political organizations.
If the House and Senate cannot agree on the same version of the bill, it will die between the chambers.
A similar bill was killed in the Senate two years ago.
Nineteen states have passed data privacy laws, according to the Electronic Privacy Information Center, which advocates for strict laws.
