Massachusetts votes to pass a new privacy bill that bans the sale of precise location data

Massachusetts lawmakers have voted to pass privacy protections that give state residents new rights to access and delete their data held by tech giants. The bill also prohibits companies from selling the precise location data of their users.

Lawmakers in the Massachusetts House passed the National Consumer Data Privacy Act by a vote of 146-0 on Thursday, months after all 40 Senate lawmakers voted to continue their bill in September. Now, the bills will be assembled in the Senate, and sent to the governor’s office, where they are expected to be signed into law. It is not clear when that will happen.

The move makes Massachusetts the latest US state to enforce stronger consumer privacy rights after years of documented abuses by the broader technology, advertising and social media industries. Although the United States does not have a national privacy law, unlike many of the world’s major democracies, US states have filled the legislative void by enacting their own state-specific privacy laws.

The bill, if passed into law, would apply to companies that hold or process the personal information of more than 100,000 consumers. It will mostly affect mid-sized startups and Silicon Valley tech titans.

The law may prohibit the sharing or sale of sensitive information without the express consent of the user. This data includes biometrics (such as health data, genetic information, and fingerprints), their accurate geolocation data, and other markers regarding their religion, immigration status and gender status.

The collection and sale of people’s location data has been a major sticking point in privacy debates for years. Data vendors have for years relied on app developers who sell their users’ location data to package and sell it to anyone who will pay, including stalkers, governments and the military. In most cases, the government says it does not need permission to buy commercially available data on the open market.

The Biden administration came close to banning the sale of sensitive Americans’ data at the federal level, but the Trump administration has since rejected the change.

By implementing a ban on location data for both residents and visitors, the Massachusetts law would expressly prohibit the sale of location data throughout the state. The bill is expected to have a broad impact on startups that collect, share and sell location data in Massachusetts, as well as advertising companies that use location data to target people with ads.

According to local news outlet WBUR and the Massachusetts newspaper Lynn Journal, state lawmakers have worked across party lines under the belief that privacy is a fundamental right for Massachusetts residents.

The bill was generally praised by privacy groups and advocates.

Evan Greer, director of the Fight for the Future Advocacy group, said the Massachusetts bill “took a big step in the fight against Big Tech abuse,” while the ACLU praised the landmark bill as positioning the state “as a leader in protecting personal privacy and curbing digital surveillance.”