LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
MAJOR PRIVACY BILL INTRODUCED IN MASSACHUSETTS
INCLUDES PARENTAL-CONSENT PROVISION
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Jane Swift, the Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts, has introduced legislation that she calls "one of the nation’s most comprehensive undertakings to protect the privacy of consumers in the information age." The measure would prohibit using, selling, or buying lists of children under the age of 13 without first obtaining parental consent and contains disclosure, record-keeping, and other requirements that would be harmful to Kids in the Know members.
Besides requiring "affirmative consent" from parents, the bill would require list users and brokers to disclose the source and content of the information and whether and to whom it has been sold or transferred. Violators of these mandates would be subject to a maximum fine of $2,500 or imprisonment and civil liabilities of not less than $1,000.
Like other parental-consent bills that Kids in the Know has opposed, this legislation would destroy the ability of organizations to serve children and families by offering valuable products and services through the mail.
In a message to the Massachusetts Legislature, Swift said the bill "addresses an ever-darkening cloud that the information age has brought us. . . . The situation is particularly troubling with respect to children: at present, parents have no control over the collection or dissemination of personal information about their children, and no recourse if they discover that information is
being used in a manner to which they object."
The 42-page bill contains provisions dealing with everything from identity theft and credit reports to "biometric identifiers," wiretapping, and electronic monitoring in the workplace. It also contains an "opt-in" requirement for retailers and credit card issuers for the sale or lease of consumer information. And it creates a state "opt-out" list to prevent future collection or use of information.
Government and law enforcement agencies, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and colleges and universities are exempt from the child-related provisions. But groups that serve them – including several Kids in the Know members – would still be subject to the bill’s onerous restrictions.
Swift said the legislation is the product of the "Quality of Life Working Group of the Celluci-Swift Transition Team." She and Governor Argeo Paul Cellucci were elected last fall. The bill is now being considered by a few State Senate and House committees.
Kids in the Know is writing to key Massachusetts lawmakers, the Governor, and the Lieutenant Governor to express our strong opposition and explain how the parental-consent and disclosure requirements would harm children and families. Meetings of Kids in the Know representatives with legislators will most likely need to take place within the next six-to-eight weeks.
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