For more exhaustive information on how the Massachusetts Consumer Data Privacy Act would compare with existing state laws, one of the Digital Fourth members made a detailed comparison of the MCDPA with the corresponding laws in California and Maryland:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1oOltbqkxLpIsD76hHEPMpnfn-DdjoiA2UpoqNFmZodM/

#MCDPA #MAPol #MAPoli #privacy

In addition to replacing the "and" with an "or", Digital Fourth would also like to 1) strengthen protections for children and 2) make an extremely common-sense change that would broaden the definition of "genetic data" to include information derived from genetic data, not just the gene sequence itself.

If a genetic test shows that you're predisposed for diabetes or cancer, that test result should be protected, not just the data it was derived from.

#MCDPA #MAPol #MAPoli

The MCDPA has higher thresholds for enforcement than California, and also uses an "and" where California's privacy law uses an "or". That's a big difference.

One of the amendments that Digital Fourth is advocating for in our petition would replace the "and" with an "or", substantially broadening the scope of the bill.

#MCDPA #MAPol #MAPoli

California's Privacy Rights Act (CPRA) applies to companies earning over $26,625,000 in the preceding calendar year or that buy, sell, or share the personal information of 100,000 or more consumers.

If passed in its current form, the MCDPA would apply only to companies that both have gross revenues above $200,000,000 *and* that handle data of more than 2,000,000 consumers.

#MCDPA #MAPol #MAPoli #privacy

Massachusetts desperately needs privacy protections, so passing the MCDPA would be better than nothing, but the enforcement thresholds for companies that are held accountable is much lower than for California.

#MCDPA #MAPol #MAPoli #privacy

Although this opinion piece on WBUR says that the if passed the MCDPA "would be the most privacy protective state privacy law in the country," but it's not quite that simple.
https://www.wbur.org/cognoscenti/2026/03/04/big-tech-data-ai-consumer-privacy-law-woodrow-hartzog-neil-richards

The Massachusetts Consumer Data Privacy Act is in some ways strong and in other ways weaker than both the California and Maryland privacy laws.

#MCDPA #MAPol #MAPoli #privacy

If you happen to have a representative on the Massachusetts House Ways and Means Committee (https://malegislature.gov/Committees/Detail/H34), it will be especially valuable for them to hear from you about the importance of strengthening the Massachusetts Consumer Data Protection Act.

If you are able to do so, making a phone call is even better than signing the petition.

#MAPol #MAPoli #MCDPA #privacy

The language of the bill that moved out of committeee is unnecessarily weak, and could be *significantly improved with some relatively minor amendments: replacing an "and" with an "or", classifying philosophical beliefs as sensitive data, and some very basic protections for children's data and genetic data.

(See #petition upthread.)

#MAPol #MAPoli #privacy #MDPA #MCDPA