Maine Mulls Repeal of 2019 ISP Privacy Law
Maine legislators debated whether to repeal the state’s ISP privacy law as they compared a trio of comprehensive privacy bills during a Monday hearing of the joint Judiciary Committee (see 2505050025).
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Maine enacted the ISP privacy measure in 2019, countering Congress’ 2017 repeal of 2016 FCC broadband privacy rules (see 1906060050). At Monday's hearing, Sen. Harold Stewart (R) urged support for a stand-alone bill (LD-1284) to repeal the 2019 law, while Rep. Rachel Henderson (R) said she was including the repeal as part of her comprehensive privacy bill (LD-1088). Two alternative comprehensive privacy bills, LD-1822 by committee House Chair Amy Kuhn (D) and LD-1224 by Rep. Tiffany Roberts (D), don't include a repeal of the ISP privacy law.
Maine should treat ISPs the same as all other businesses that interact with customer data, said Stewart, who supports passage of a comprehensive bill. "At the end of the day, it's clear that ISPs aren't uniquely positioned to invade our privacy. In some cases, they have less access to personal data than the platforms that we actually use every day.”
"I'm not saying the ISP should not be included in privacy protections," he added. "Instead, everyone, including them, should be regulated the same and have obligations to consumers.” Henderson similarly supported having the same rules for all kinds of companies.
However, when pressed by two committee members if he would still support the repeal without simultaneously passing a comprehensive privacy bill, Stewart said he sees LD-1284 as “step one.” He added that consumers are already vulnerable because many incorrectly believe the ISP privacy law protects them from data mishandling by other kinds of companies.
Maine Assistant Attorney General Brendan O’Neil opposed repealing the ISP privacy law, which he said regulates companies that interact with consumers in a “fundamentally different way” from websites and apps. ISPs are like the "pipe that supplies water to your house,” he said: Consumers “can’t avoid them.”
ISPs are utilities that are "fundamentally different from other tech-connected parts of the world,” agreed Michael Kebede, policy director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Maine. In addition, the ISP law has stronger privacy protections than were proposed in the comprehensive bills, he said.
However, the cable industry supports LD-1284, said Alex Minard, NCTA's lead legislative counsel. NCTA and other ISP associations unsuccessfully challenged the 2019 ISP privacy law in court. Minard said no other state followed Maine in writing an ISP privacy law. “Numerous entities touch an individual's personal data when a person goes online.” Having ISP-only privacy rules, or different privacy standards for ISPs compared with other companies, is confusing for consumers, he said.