Why It Matters
Maine’s effort to enact comprehensive data privacy legislation has stalled again, leaving Maine residents without state-level protections governing how businesses collect, use, and share their personal information. The collapse of LD 1822 means Maine consumers will continue to rely primarily on federal baseline rules and a limited 2019 internet service provider privacy law, even as digital data collection practices grow more sophisticated.
The bill’s likely defeat signals that concerns from the business community — particularly around targeted advertising — remain a significant barrier to passing consumer data protection laws at the state level.
What Happened
The Maine House of Representatives failed to enact LD 1822, a comprehensive consumer data privacy bill, on Thursday, April 3, after initially approving the measure in March. Five Democrats crossed party lines and joined Republicans in blocking the legislation, providing enough opposition to reverse the earlier vote.
The reversal followed a high-profile display of business opposition. On March 31, Patrick Woodcock, president and CEO of the Maine State Chamber of Commerce, joined dozens of business leaders at the Cross Insurance Arena in Portland to voice objections to the proposal.
A letter signed by more than 200 Maine businesses was also sent to the Legislature and Governor Janet Mills on Tuesday, formally urging lawmakers to reject the bill. The central objection raised by opponents centered on the bill’s restrictions on targeted advertising — the practice of delivering ads based on a user’s browsing history, location data, and online behavior.
Rep. Rachel Henderson (R-Rumford) argued on the House floor that targeted advertising is fundamental to modern commerce. “Unless we want to go back to a world where we have door-to-door salesmen selling us vacuum cleaners and pencils, the way of the future and really the way of the present is through digital marketing,” Henderson said.
Supporters of the bill pushed back on those arguments. Rep. Valli Geiger (D-Rockland) described a personal experience in which she received car repair product ads after discussing the topic verbally with her husband — without conducting any online searches. “I do not want to live in a world where everyone is listening to me, everyone is tracking me, everyone is spying on me,” Geiger said.
By the Numbers
200+ — Maine businesses that signed the letter to the Legislature and Governor Mills opposing LD 1822.
5 — Democrats who joined Republicans in blocking the bill, flipping the House vote after an earlier approval in March.
2019 — The year Maine last passed significant digital privacy legislation, a law applying specifically to internet service providers.
2 — The approximate number of consecutive legislative sessions in which a comprehensive Maine data privacy bill has failed to advance to the Governor’s desk.
Zoom Out
Maine is not alone in struggling to pass comprehensive state data privacy laws. While 20 states have enacted consumer data privacy legislation since Virginia passed the first such law in 2021, many others have seen similar bills fail repeatedly — often due to opposition from business coalitions focused on targeted advertising provisions and compliance cost uncertainty.
States including California, Colorado, Texas, and Virginia have enacted laws that include opt-out rights for targeted advertising, though the specific requirements vary. Critics of those laws have argued that compliance burdens fall disproportionately on small businesses that rely on digital marketing to reach customers.
Maine has taken other steps on energy and environmental policy in recent legislative sessions. The Legislature passed a plug-in solar bill to expand renewable energy access for renters, and Governor Mills signed a regional commitment to evaluate advanced nuclear energy options — both measures that moved through with less business opposition than LD 1822 has faced.
At the federal level, a comprehensive national data privacy framework has also failed to advance, leaving a patchwork of state laws as the primary regulatory structure governing consumer data in the United States.
What’s Next
With the House failing to enact the bill following its reversal, LD 1822 appears headed toward defeat in the current legislative session. Sponsors and privacy advocates may seek to revive a modified version of the proposal in the next session, potentially with revised language on targeted advertising designed to address the business community’s primary objections.
Governor Mills has not publicly committed to signing or vetoing the bill. Whether the Legislature will take any further action on data privacy legislation before the current session concludes remains unclear.