In a follow-up to my post yesterday about proposed laws in New Hampshire keeping firms from selling our cell-phone location data without our permission, comes news from Maine that they don’t think that’s a good idea.
From the Portland Press-Herald story:
Four national associations that represent internet service providers have sued Maine officials over a law that requires companies to get opt-in consent from customers before sharing or using personal data.
The law, which passed last year and is set to go into effect in July, is among the strictest consumer privacy protections in the country. A 32-page complaint, filed last Friday in U.S. District Court in Portland, says Maine’s new law violates First Amendment protections by, among other things, restricting ISPs from advertising or marketing services to customers or from offering discounts or rewards in loyalty programs.
Vice.com has a more outraged story about it:
The lawsuit, first spotted by Ars Technica, is part of a much broader effort by the industry to eliminate all meaningful state and federal consumer protections. It’s a gambit that has been hugely successful so far. With the press and public justifiably focused on the numerous problems with “big tech” monopolies, big telecom is quietly getting a free pass to engage in all the same (or worse) behaviors.
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