Judiciary Committee to Review Maine Children's Privacy Law

The Joint Standing Committee on the Judiciary in the Maine Legislature will be meeting on October 15 and 16 to consider the constitutional issues raised by the "Act to Prevent Predatory Marketing Practices Against Minors."  That law, passed earlier this year, severely restricts the collection, transfer and use of "personal information" or "health-related information" from minors.

Written comments about the serious problems with the law should be submitted to the Committee by October 8. All of the details about the Judiciary Committee review are available at http://www.maine.gov/legis/opla/judcommreview.htm

ANA will be submitting written comments and would appreciate your input. If your company markets products or services to children in Maine, it would also be very helpful if you submitted comments about the problems posed by this new law.

The Maine Attorney General has publicly committed not to enforce the law, which took effect on September 12.  ANA provided financial support for a lawsuit in federal court which challenged the law on First Amendment and dormant commerce clause grounds. Although the federal court stopped short of granting a preliminary injunction, it sent a clear message that any private cause of action under the new law could suffer from "constitutional infirmities."

We are very hopeful that the hearing will give the business community an opportunity to work with the Attorney General, the bill's sponsor and others in the Maine Legislature to resolve the serious defects with the legislation.  We will provide you with more information about possible legislative options as they are developed.

If you have any questions about the Maine law, please contact Dan Jaffe (djaffe@ana.net) in ANA's Washington, D.C. office at 202.296.1883.