An Act To Protect the Privacy of Online Customer Information
Maine Legislature, Session 129, LD 0946
House Amendment HA_A_H374 (House)

HOUSE AMENDMENT «A" to S.P. 275, L.D. 946, Bill, "An Act To Protect the 
Privacy of Online Customer Information" 
Amend the bill by striking out everything after the enacting clause and inserting the 
following: 
1Sec. 1. S MRSA c. 8 is enacted to read: 
§171. Definitions 
CHAPTERS 
PRIVACY OF PERSONAL DATA 
As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise indicates, the following terms 
have the following meanings. 
1. Affiliate. 
11Affiliate" means a legal entity that controls, is controlled by or is under 
common control with another legal entity. 
2. Consent. nconsentn means a clear affirmative act signifying a specific, informed 
and unambiguou~ indication of a consumer1s agreement to the processing of personal data 
relating to the consumer, such as by a written statement or other clear affirmative act. 
3. Consumer. 
11Consumer
means a natural person who is a resident of the State 
acting only in an individual or household context. 
11Consumer
does not include a natural 
person from whom personal data is collected while that natural person is acting in a 
commercial or employment context. 
4. Controller. "Controller" means a natural or legal person that. alone or jointly 
with others, determines the purposes and means of the processing of personal data. 
5. Deidentifled data. 
11Deidentified data
means: 
A. 
Data that cannot be linked to a known natural person without additional 
information that is kept separately: or 
B. Data: 
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(1) That has been modified to a degree that the risk of reidentification of a 
known natural person is small: 
' 
(2) That is subject to a public commitment by the controller not to attempt to 
re.identify the data; and 
(3) To which has been applied one or more enforceable controls to prevent 
reidentification. Enforceable controls to prevent reidentification may include 
legal, administrative, technical or contractual controls. 
6. Designated request address. 
nDesignated request address" means an e-mail 
address, online form, toll-free telephone number or other reasonable method that a 
consumer may use to request the information required to be provided pursuant to tWs 
chapter. 
7. Disclose. 
11Disclose
means to release, transfer, share, disseminate or otherwise 
communicate orally, in writing or by electronic or any other means to a 3rd party a 
consumer's personal data. 
11Disclose
does not include the disclosure of personal data by 
a controller to a 3rd party: 
A. Under a written contract authorizing the 3rd party only to use or disclose the 
personal data to perform services on behalf of the controller; 
B. Based on a good faith belief that disclosure is required to comply with applicable 
law, regulation, legal process or court order or is reasonably necessary to address 
fraud, risk management, security, an emergency or technical issues: to protect the 
controller's rights or property; or to protect against illegal activities: or 
C. In connection with a proposed or actual sale to or merger with the 3rd party, 
bankruptcy of the controller or sale of all or part of the controller's assets to the 3rd 
Q.filTI,. 
8. Online service. 
110nline service" means an info1mation service provided over the 
Internet that processes personal data. 
9. 
Personal data. 
"Personal data" means any infmmation that is linked or 
reasonably linkable to an identified or identifiable natural person. "Personal data" does 
not include deidentified data or publicly available information. For the purposes of tWs 
subsection, 
11publicly available information" means information that is lawfully made 
available from federal. state or local government records. 
10. Process. 
11Process
means to collect, use, store, disclose. analyze, delete or 
modify personal data. 
11. Processor. "Processor" means a natural or legal person that processes personal 
data on behalf of a controller. 
12. Sale. "Sale" means the exchange of personal data for monetary consideration by 
a controller to a 3rd party for purposes of licensing or selling personal data at the 3rd 
party's discretion to additional 3rd parties. 
11Sale
does not include: 
A. The disclosure of personal data to a processor: 
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B. The disclosure of personal data to a 3rd party with whom the consumer has a 
direct relationship for pumoses of providing a product or service requested by the 
consumer or otherwise in a manner that is consistent with a consumer's reasonable 
expectations considering the context in which the consumer provided the personal 
data to the controller; 
C. The disclosure or transfer of personal data to an affiliate of the controller; or 
D. The disclosure of personal data to a 3rd party as an asset that is part of a merger, 
acquisition, bankruptcy or other transaction in which the 3rd party assumes control of 
all or part of the controller's assets. 
13. Sensitive data. "Sensitive data" means: 
A A social secmity number or financial infonnation that would allow use of or 
access to a consumer's bank or credit card account; 
B. Personal data revealing a person's religious beliefs, mental or physical health 
diagnosis, medical records, sexual history or sexual orientation: 
C. Genetic or biometric data that can uniquely identify a natural person; or 
D. The personal data ofa child under 13 years of age. 
14. Third party. "Third patty" means a natural or legal person, public authority, 
agency or body other than the consumer. the controller, the processor of the controller or 
an affiliate of the processor or of the controller. 
15. Verified request. "Verified reguest
means a request made by a consumer to 
exercise a right or rights set forth in this chapter that can be reasonably authenticated by 
the controller using commercially reasonable means. 
§172. Consumer rights 
1. Right to transparency. A controller that collects personal data through the 
Internet about consumers who use or visit its commercial website or online service shall, 
in the controller's customer service agreement or incorporated addendum or any other 
readily available mechanism accessible to the consumer, provide a notice that: 
A. Identifies all categories of personal data that the controller or the controller's 
processor processes about individual consumers collected through its commercial 
website or online service; 
B. Identifies all categories of 3rd parties to whom the controller may disclose that 
personal data: 
C. Discloses whether a 3rd party may collect personal data about an individual 
consumer's online activities over time and across different commercial websites or 
online services when the consumer uses the commercial website or online service of 
the controller: 
D. Provides a description of the procedure for an individual consumer who uses or 
visits the commercial website or online service to review and request changes to 
inaccurate personal data that is collected by the controller as a result of the 
consumer's use or visits to the commercial website or online service; 
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HOUSE AMENDMENT ·A "to S.P. 275, L.D. 946 
E. Describes the procedure by which the controller notifies consumers who use or 
visit its commercial website or online service of material changes to the notice 
required to be made available through this subsection: 
F. States the effective date of the notice: and 
G. 
Provides a description of a consumer's rights, as required by this chapter, 
accompanied by one or more designated request addresses. 
2. Right to know. A controller that sells a consumer's personal data collected 
through the consumer's use of or visit to the controller's commercial website or online 
service shall make the following information available to the consumer free of charge 
upon receipt of a verified request from the consumer: 
A. All categories of the consumer's personal data that were sold; and 
B. All categories of 3rd parties that received the consumer's personal data through a 
sale of the consumer's personal data by the controller. 
3. Right to opt out of sale of personal data. A controller that sells the personal 
data of a consumer collected through the consumer's use of or visit to the controller's 
commercial website or online service shall clearly and conspicuously post on its 
commercial website or online service a designated request address or link to the 
designated request address through which a consumer may opt out of the sale of the 
consumer's personal data to 3rd parties by making a verified request. A controller may 
not require a consumer to establish an account with the controller in order to opt out of 
the sale of the consumer's personal data. 
§173. Risk assessments for use of personal data 
1. Risk assessment required. A controller shall conduct a risk assessment of each 
processing activity performed by the controller or the controller's pmcessor that involves 
personal data. A controller shall conduct an additional risk assessment any time there is a 
change in processing that materially increases the risk to consumers. The risk assessment 
must take into account the categ01y of personal data being processed by the controller or 
the controller's processor, including the extent to which the personal data is sensitive data 
or otherwise sensitive in nature, and the context in which the personal data is being 
processed. Risk assessments conducted under this subsection must identify and weigh 
the benefits that may flow directly and indirectly from the processing to the controller, 
the consumer, other stakeholders and the public against the potential risks to the rights of 
consumers associated with such processing, as mitigated by safeguards that can be 
employed by the controller or the controller's processor to reduce such risks. The use of 
de.identified data and the reasonable expectations of consumers, as well as the context of 
the processing and the relationship between the controller and the consumer whose 
personal data is processed, must factor into the risk assessment. 
The controller shall make the results of a risk assessment available to the Attorney 
General upon request. A risk assessment conducted under this subsection is confidential 
and not a public record pursuant to Title 1, section 402, subsection 3 .. 
2. 
Consumer consent requirements. If the risk assessment conducted under 
subsection 1 determines that the potential risks to consumer privacy are substantial and 
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HOUSE AMENDlvfENT ·:A "to S.P. 275, L.D. 946 
outweigh the interests of the controller, the consumer, other stakeholders and the public 
in the processing of the personal data of the consumer, the controller may engage in such 
processing only if the consumer provides consent to the processing or if the processing is 
covered by an exemption or limitation under section 175. Processing of personal data for 
a business purpose is presumed to be permissible unless it involves the processing of 
sensitive data and the risk of processing cannot be reduced through the use of appropriate 
administrative and technical safeguards. To the extent the controller seeks consumer 
consent for processing, the consent must be as easy to withdraw as to give. 
§174. Response to verified requests 
A controller that receives a verified request from a consumer through a designated 
request address under this chapter shall provide a response to the consumer within 60 
days of the controller's authentication of the request. Upon an authenticated verified 
request from a consumer for infonnation pe1taining to sales of personal data, a controller 
shall provide the consumer infomrntion pertaining to all sales of the consumer's personal 
data pursuant to this chapter that occurred in the 12 months prior to the date of the 
consumer's verified request. This section does not apply to personal data disclosed or 
sold prior to July L 2021. 
§175. Exemptions and limitations 
1. Restrictions limited. Nothing in this chapter restricts a controller's or processor's 
ability to: 
A. Comply with federal, state or local laws, rules or regulations: 
B. Comply with a civil, criminal or regulatory inquiry, investigation, subpoena or 
summons by federal, state, local or other governmental authorities; 
C. Cooperate with law enforcement agencies concerning conduct or activity that the 
controller or processor reasonably and in good faith believes may violate federal, 
state or local law; 
D. Investigate, exercise or defend legal claims: 
E. Protect the vital interests of the consumer or of another natural person; 
F. Prevent, detect or respond to identity theft, fraud or other malicious or illegal 
activity, safeguard intellectual property rights or verify identities; or 
G. Assist another entity with any of the activities set forth in paragraphs A to F. 
2. Requirements limited. Nothing in this chapter requires a controller or processor 
to reidentify deidentified data or to collect, retain, use, link or combine personal data 
concerning a consumer that the controller or processor would not otherwise collect, 
retain, use, link or combine in the ordinary course of business. 
3. Application limited. Nothing in this chapter applies to: 
A. 
Personal data collected, processed, sold or disclosed pursuant to the federal 
Driver's Privacy Protection Act of 1994, 18 United States Code, Sections 2721 to 
2725 (2019): or 
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HOUSE AMENDMENT ·A" to S.P. 275, L.D. 946 
B. The sale or provision of personal data to or from a consumer reporting agency if 
that data is repo1ted in, or used to generate, a consumer report as defined by 15 
United States Code, Section 1681a(d) as long as use of that data is limited in 
accordance with the federal Fair Credit Rep01ting Act, 15 United States Code, 
Sections 1681 to 1681x (2019). 
§176. Enforcement 
The Attorney General has exclusive authority to enforce this chapter. Whenever the 
Attorney General has reason to believe that a conh·oller is not complying with any 
requirement of this chapter, the Attorney General may provide written notice of the 
alleged violation to the controller. If the controller fails to cure the alleged violation 
within 30 days of receipt of the notice, the Attorney General may bring an action in the 
name of the State against the controller to restrain by temporary or permanent injunction 
any failure to comply with this chapter, and the court may make such other orders or 
judgments as may be necessary to restore to any person who has suffered any 
ascertainable loss by reason of the failure to comply any money or property, real or 
personal, that may have been acquired by means of the failure to comply. Nothing in this 
chapter serves as the basis or grounds for a private right of action under this or any other 
law. 
Sec. 2. Appropriations and allocations. 
The following appropriations and 
allocations are made. 
ATTORNEY GENERAL, DEPARTMENT OF THE 
Administration - Attorney General 0310 
Initiative: Establishes one Assistant Attorney General position and one Cyber Investigator 
position and provides funding for related All Other costs. 
GENERAL FUND 
POSITIONS - LEGISLATIVE COUNT 
Personal Services 
All Other 
GENERAL FUND TOTAL 
2019-20 
2.000 
$194,595 
$7,119 
$201)714 
2020-21 
2.000 
$267,244 
$9,492 
$276,736 
Sec. 3. Effective date. This Act takes effect July 1, 2021.' 
Amend the bill by relettering or renumbering any nonconsecutive Patt letter or 
section number to read consecutively. 
SUMMARY 
This amendment replaces the bill. 
The amendment includes a transparency 
requirement under which a controller, defmed as a person who controls personal data 
collected through the Internet about individual consumers who use or visit the controller's 
website or online service, is required to make certain disclosures to the consumers 
regarding the categories of data that are processed, the manner in which the data may be 
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shared with 3rd parties and any rights the consumer may have to review and request 
changes to inaccurate data collected by the controller. The amendment includes a right-
to-know provision that requires controllers who sell personal data collected from 
individual consumers who use or visit the controller's website or online service to make 
available to the consumers, free of charge, all categories of data sold and all categories of 
3rd parties who received the data. Additionally, the amendment requires controllers who 
sell personal data to 3rd parties to conspicuously post a designated address and provide 
consumers a right to opt out of the sale of the consumer's data by issuing a verified 
request through the designated address. 
Finally, the amendment requires consumer 
consent with regard to the sharing of certain sensitive information or information that is 
sensitive in naturei subject to a risk assessment by the controller. 
The amendment 
provides an effective date of July 1, 2021. The amendment also adds an appropriations 
and allocations section. 
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TOWN: Dexter 
FISCAL NOTE REQUIRED 
(See attached) 
HOUSE AMENDMENT 
Approved: 05/28/19 feac. 
LD946 
LR 1031(06) 
An Act To Protect the Privacy of Online Customer Information 
Net Cost (Savings) 
General Fund 
Appropriations/ Allocations 
General Fund 
Fiscal Detail and Notes 
Fiscal Note for House Amendment 1'.41 to Original Bill 
Sponsor: Rep. Foste1· of Dexter 
Fiscal Note Required: Yes 
Fiscal Note 
FY 2019-20 
FY 2020-21 
$201,714 
$276,736 
$201,714 
$276,736 
Projections 
FY 2021-22 
$286,357 
$286,357 
Projections 
FY 2022-23 
$296,324 
$296,324 
This amendment sets out several legal requirements regarding data privacy and the collection and sale of personal data 
and requires the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) to enforce these provisions, including notification of an 
alleged violation, as well as an action in the name of the State to restrain by temporaiy or pennanent injunction any 
failure to comply. The amendment includes General Fund appropriations to the OAG of $201,714 in fiscal year 2019-
and $276,736 in fiscal year 2020-21 for one Assistant Attomey General position and one Cyber Investigator 
position to meet the enforcement requirements of the amendment. 
LRl 031 (06) - Fiscal Note - Page 1 of 1