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Broad hearing on Internet privacy bill draws wide support and commercial opposition; committee holds bill
Summary
A wide-ranging hearing on House Bill 307, the Internet Privacy and Safety Act, drew robust support from privacy and civil-rights organizations and cautious opposition from business groups; the committee held the bill for further work and did not vote.
The Commerce & Economic Development committee heard extended testimony and public comment on House Bill 307, the Internet Privacy and Safety Act (IPSA). The bill would limit the amount and type of personal information that online services may collect and require opt-in consent for sale of data and targeted advertising; it also includes special protections for minors and creates civil remedies including a private right of action and attorney-general enforcement.
Sponsor remarks and expert testimony described the bill as a "gold standard" approach that combines data-minimization requirements, limits on use of sensitive information, and explicit protections for known minors. "This bill stops the flood of data at its source," said Cody Venske of the ACLU in committee testimony, adding that companies would be limited to collecting information only as necessary to provide the services consumers request. Nicole Rocha, who has worked on state kids-code efforts, told the committee the measure improves protections for youth by defining "actual knowledge" of age to include inferred attributes, and by limiting push notifications to minors between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.
A long slate of civil-rights, public-interest and consumer groups testified in favor: witnesses included Conservation Voters New Mexico, Equality New Mexico, Bold Futures, the New Mexico Immigrant Law Center, the New Mexico Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs, Consumer Reports, EPIC (Electronic Privacy Information Center), the American Federation of Teachers–New Mexico, the Women United reproductive-justice program and PIRG (public interest research group). Testimony emphasized harms from data profiling, targeted disinformation, and the risks that highly detailed data can be used to identify and target people seeking reproductive or gender-affirming health care.
Industry and business groups testified in opposition or asked for substantial changes. The Albuquerque Hispano Chamber of Commerce and the New Mexico Chamber of Commerce asked the committee to consider less-restrictive alternatives and warned about administrative and compliance costs for local businesses. TechNet and the Consumer Data Industry Association urged alignment with existing state models and warned the bill diverges from the multi-state approach favored by many businesses. Several business witnesses also flagged the bill’s private right of action as a litigation risk and urged more narrow enforcement or state-only remedies.
Committee members engaged in detailed policy and constitutional questions: queries covered whether the bill is retroactive (presenters said it is not), how the private right of action would operate alongside attorney-general enforcement, and whether federal law (for example, FCRA, GLBA, HIPAA) would preempt parts of the bill. Presenters said the bill is drafted to exempt specific information already covered by federal law while otherwise applying to data practices of entities that provide online features, sell data, or use data for targeted advertising.
The committee did not vote on HB307. The chair said the measure will be held while related bills are reconciled to avoid conflicting legislation, and sponsors agreed to supply comparisons and continue discussions with stakeholders. Presenters committed to provide side-by-side comparisons with other bills and to continue conversations with the attorney general's office and business stakeholders.
