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Maryland passes comprehensive state privacy law
With Governor Wes Moore signing Maryland’s privacy bill into law, it now becomes the 18th state with a comprehensive privacy law in the US
Keshawna Campbell
Privacy Research Manager, OneTrust Center of Excellence
May 10, 2024
On May 9, 2024, Maryland became the 18th state to officially pass a comprehensive state privacy law, the Maryland Online Data Protection Act (MODPA). Let's go through the key highlights of Maryland’s legislation.
Some key requirements introduced by the MODPA include additional requirements around health data, third-party data sharing, and anti-discriminatory stipulations.
When does the MODPA come into effect?
Maryland’s privacy law will come into effect on October 1, 2025 – but doesn’t apply to any data processing before April 1, 2026, giving businesses sufficient time to comply with the regulation.
Who does the MODPA apply to?
The MODPA applies to the following businesses in Maryland or businesses that provide products/services to Maryland residents classified as consumers:
- Businesses that control/process the personal data of over 35,000 consumers (excluding personal data processing for transactional purposes)
- Businesses that control/process the personal data of over 10,000 consumers and generate over 20% of their revenue from the sale of this data
Who is a consumer?
The law defines a consumer as “an individual who is a resident of the state.”
However, the definition of a consumer does not include “an individual acting in a commercial or employment context.” This means that the employees of a company or governmental unit are not considered consumers when looking at the personal data being processed by an organization.
What are some key highlights of the MODPA?
The MODPA has similar stipulations to other US state privacy laws. The law includes stipulations regarding consumer rights, consent, and the conducting of data protection assessments.
Consumer rights
The MODPA offers the following consumer rights to Maryland residents, in line with most major privacy regulations today.
- Right to confirm processing
- Right to access
- Right to correction
- Right to deletion
- Right to portability
- Right to opt-out of:
- The sale of personal data
- Profiling
- Targeted advertising
- The sale of personal data
In addition to these rights, the MODPA also provides consumers with the right to know what categories of third parties their data is being shared with.
Consent
The MODPA defines consent as a “clear affirmative act signifying a consumer’s freely given, specific, informed, and unambiguous agreement to allow the processing of personal data relating to the consumer for a particular purpose.” This includes a written statement (electronic or non-electronic), or any other “unambiguous action.”
The law further defines sensitive data as racial or ethnic origin, religious beliefs, consumer health data, details regarding sex life, sexual orientation, transgender or nonbinary status, national origin, or citizenship or immigration status. It also includes genetic data or biometric data, personal information of a consumer that the controller is aware of, or has reason to believe, pertains to a child, and precise geolocation data.
Privacy notices
The law requires companies to provide a privacy notice to their website visitors that is “easily accessible, clear, and meaningful.” It must include the following:
- The types of personal data being processed by the controller, including any sensitive data
- The purposes for which the controller processes personal data
- Instructions on how a consumer can exercise their rights under this subtitle, including ways to appeal the controller's decision about a request or to revoke consent
- Details about the categories of third parties with whom the controller shares personal data, offering enough information for a consumer to understand the nature, business model, or processing activities of each third party
- The types of personal data, including sensitive data, shared with these third parties
- A direct e-mail address or another online method for consumers to contact the controller
Data protection asessments
Maryland’s privacy law requires data protection assessments to be conducted for any data processing activities that “present a heightened risk of harm to the consumer.” These include the following:
- The processing of personal data specifically for targeted advertising
- The sale of personal data
- The handling of sensitive data
- The use of personal data for profiling activities that could foreseeably present a risk of:
- Unfair, abusive, or deceptive treatment of consumers
- Result in unlawful disparate impacts
- Cause financial, physical, or reputational harm
- Lead to an intrusion on the solitude or seclusion of private affairs or an intrusion deemed offensive by reasonable standards
- Cause other significant injuries to consumers
- Unfair, abusive, or deceptive treatment of consumers
Enforcement
The MODPA allows for a 60-day cure period for organizations to remedy their data practices to maintain compliance. However, this cure period stipulation expires on April 1, 2027. The law is enforceable by the Consumer Protection division of the Maryland Attorney General’s office.
Other highlights
The MODPA also includes a few more mentions around health data, third-party uses of consumer data, and anti-discriminatory rules.
Health data
Maryland’s privacy law prevents companies from accessing the consumer health data of their employees unless there is a confidentiality agreement in place. Processors also have further restrictions around processing health data, and businesses are prohibited from using a geofence to establish a virtual boundary that is within 1,750 feet of a mental health or sexual health facility.
Third-party use of data
The law states that if a third party uses or shares a consumer’s information in a manner “inconsistent with promises made to the consumer at the time of collection of the information,” the third party must provide the affected consumer with notice of the new or changed practice before implementing it.
Anti-discriminatory provision
The MODPA includes a statement that mentions that data controllers cannot “collect, process, or transfer personal data or publicly available data” in a manner that discriminates between consumers and prevents the “equal enjoyment of goods or services” based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability, unless exceptions apply.
What does this mean for your business?
The MODPA goes into effect on October 1, 2025, but only applies to personal data processed from April 1, 2026 onwards. This gives businesses nearly two years to prepare for regulatory compliance. For more information on how your organization can be prepared for upcoming privacy regulations, learn more about the OneTrust Privacy & Data Governance Cloud.
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