🔒Maine business groups take aim at data privacy bill headed to state Senate

A data privacy bill headed for a vote in the Maine Senate is getting pushback from businesses and trade groups who argue that the measure would create headaches for small companies. The bill, introduced in 2025 by state Rep. Amy Kuhn, D-Falmouth, would sharply restrict the ability to use third-party data and location-based advertising to reach customers, requiring additional consent to do so. Supporters include the American Civil Liberties Union of Maine, which argues that the measure would provide “meaningful protections” against “grave threats to democracy and personal autonomy” posed by surveillance, according to written testimony by the organization's policy director, Michael Kebede. GLAD Law, a Boston-based nonprofit advocacy group, also supports the bill, calling it a “major step forward in protecting the digital privacy of all Mainers.”

Chambers speak out

Both the Maine State Chamber of Commerce and the Portland Regional Chamber of Commerce oppose the bill, LD 1822, which the Maine House of Representatives passed in February by a vote of 73-65. A Senate vote has not yet been scheduled but is expected to take place next week. “Maine businesses are facing rising costs — energy, rent, insurance and labor,” the Maine State Chamber said in an email alert to members this week. “Digital marketing tools are one of the few cost-effective ways small businesses reach new customers and stay competitive.” The Augusta-based group also said that while it supports protecting sensitive data, LD 1822 “overreaches and would disadvantage Maine employers.” Along similar lines, the Portland Regional Chamber of Commerce urged its members to press state senators to vote against the “sweeping and restrictive data privacy bill that would make Maine a national outlier and impose significant compliance burdens on Maine businesses," as laid out in an action alert to members.

Pushback from sports teams

Pro sports franchises that rely heavily on digital marketing to attract new fans are also opposed to LD 1822, including the Portland Sea Dogs baseball team, which dispatched mascot Slugger to the Statehouse earlier this week. “Slugger may be a beloved Hall of Famer, but the team still must rely on targeted digital marketing to remain successful,” Jesse Scaglion, the team’s general manager, said in a statement emailed to Mainebiz. “Taking a step backward digitally would be costly and make it harder for Maine businesses to reach customers and thrive,” he added. The Maine Mariners hockey team also opposes LD 1822 but favors a separate proposal by Rep. Rachel Henderson, R-Rumford, that would allow consumers to opt in or out of data collection with a clearly displayed button at the top of websites. “We are not opposed to digital privacy, but the bill up for a vote would make advertising and outreach not just more expensive, but [also] a barrier to growth,” Maine Mariners CEO Adam Goldberg told Mainebiz. “Maine has such an entrepreneurial spirit and if a company/team were to start with this legislation enacted, targeting customers and letting locals know about something new and exciting would be an impossibility,” he added. The Portland Sea Dogs, owned by Diamond Baseball Holdings, are the Double-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox. The Mariners, owned by Dexter and Susan Paine, are affiliated with the NHL's Boston Bruins and AHL's Providence (R.I.) Bruins. A study released earlier the week found that the Mariners injected at least $6.1 million into Greater Portland's economy during the 2024-25 season.