Consumer Reports strongly supports S. 2619, the Massachusetts Data Privacy Act (MDPA), comprehensive privacy legislation that would create critical protections to safeguard the privacy of Massachusetts consumers’ personal data and that the Senate unanimously approved earlier this session.
The bill would require businesses to abide by strong data minimization provisions, which would prevent them from collecting personal information that is not necessary to provide the specific product or service requested by consumers. It would also extend to Massachusetts consumers important new protections relating to their personal information, including prohibitions against selling sensitive data (including precise geolocation) outright, a ban on the use of sensitive data for targeted advertisements, restrictions against targeting advertisements to children, and more.
Consumer Reports also supports similar legislation in the House, H. 78 (the Massachussetts Consumer Data Privacy Act), which is based on CR and EPIC’s model state privacy bill and would accomplish many of the same objectives.