Massachusetts lawmakers have moved closer to passing one of the state’s most significant consumer privacy measures, approving a bill that would give residents stronger control over their personal information and ban companies from selling users’ precise location data.
Massachusetts lawmakers voted to pass privacy protections that grant residents new rights over accessing and deleting their data held by major technology companies.
The measure, known as the state’s Consumer Data Privacy Act, passed the Massachusetts House in a unanimous 146-0 vote. The House approval came months after all 40 members of the Senate voted in favor of advancing their own version of the bill in September.
Bill heads toward Senate compromise
The House and Senate versions still need to be combined before the final measure can be sent to the governor’s office.
TechCrunch reported that the bills will now be combined in the Senate and later sent to the governor, where the measure is expected to be signed into law, though the exact timing remains unclear.
If signed, the bill would apply to companies that handle or process the personal data of more than 100,000 consumers. This threshold would largely affect medium-sized startups as well as major Silicon Valley technology companies.
Mezha similarly reported that the proposed law would apply to companies that process or handle personal data of more than 100,000 consumers, with expected impact on mid-sized startups and large technology firms.
Sensitive data sales would require consent
A central part of the bill is its restriction on the sale or sharing of sensitive personal information. The law would block the sharing or sale of sensitive information without a user’s explicit consent.
The data covered by the bill includes biometrics, such as health data, genetic information, and fingerprints. It also includes precise geolocation data and other sensitive markers involving religion, immigration status, and sexual orientation.
The same categories, saying the bill would prohibit the dissemination or sale of sensitive information without explicit consent and would cover biometric data, precise geolocation data, religion, immigration status, and sexual orientation.
The restriction on precise location data is especially significant because location information can reveal highly personal details about where people live, work, worship, seek healthcare, or spend time.
Location data market faces new pressure
The bill arrives after years of concern over how data brokers collect, package, and resell location data.
Data brokers have relied for years on app developers selling users’ location data, which can then be repackaged and sold to anyone willing to pay, including stalkers, governments, and militaries.
The outlet also noted that some government agencies have argued they do not need a warrant to buy commercially available data on the open market. That issue has become a major privacy concern because buying commercially available data may allow government access to sensitive personal information without the same legal process required for direct surveillance.
Data sellers have often relied on app developers that sell users’ location data for resale to third parties, including trackers and governments.
Privacy advocates welcome the measure
Privacy groups and advocates praised the Massachusetts bill.
Evan Greer, director of the Fight for the Future advocacy group, said the bill took a major step toward cracking down on Big Tech’s surveillance abuses. The outlet also reported that the ACLU praised the measure as positioning Massachusetts as a leader in protecting personal privacy and curbing digital surveillance.
If enacted, the Massachusetts bill could strengthen the growing state-by-state push for consumer privacy protections in the absence of a comprehensive federal privacy law in the United States. It may also increase pressure on startups, advertising firms, app developers, and large technology platforms that rely on personal data for targeting, analytics, and commercial resale.
For users, the bill’s clearest message is simple: precise location data is not just another advertising signal. It can expose intimate patterns of daily life, and Massachusetts is moving to treat that information as something companies should not be able to sell without stronger limits.
