June 8, 2026
Location data? Not so fast
Massachusetts bans sale of precise location data in new privacy rights bill
Massachusetts tells data sellers to get lost as commenters ask: will anyone actually stop them
TLDR: Massachusetts is moving to ban the sale of precise location data and give people more control over personal information, with broad support from lawmakers. Commenters love the idea but are split between celebration and cynicism, asking the big question: will this actually protect anyone if loopholes and weak enforcement remain?
Massachusetts just pulled off the rarest thing in politics: everyone agreed. Lawmakers voted unanimously to give people more power to see and delete data companies hold on them, and to ban the sale of precise location data. In plain English: if your phone, car app, or favorite social app knows exactly where you are, companies in Massachusetts may soon have a much harder time turning that into cash. Privacy groups cheered, calling it a big hit on surveillance and a sign the state wants to lead while Washington keeps fumbling the ball.
But the real fireworks were in the comments, where the mood swung from "finally!" to "I’ll believe it when somebody gets fined." One camp was practically throwing confetti, with users calling it "very exciting" and begging for every state — or better yet the whole country — to copy it so Americans don’t end up with fifty different privacy rulebooks. Another camp immediately went into detective mode, poking at loopholes: what stops giant platforms from buying the same data another way, or using your location behind the scenes without technically "selling" it? That skepticism hit hard.
And then came the darkest, sharpest hot take: some commenters said the scandal isn’t just selling location data, it’s collecting it at all. One user basically dragged the whole industry, saying they don’t want Toyota, GM, or Google tracking where they’ve been, partners or no partners. The running joke-slash-nightmare of the thread? Privacy bills are great on paper — but until enforcement shows up, the internet jury is not handing out gold stars just yet.
Key Points
- •The Massachusetts House unanimously passed the Consumer Data Privacy Act, following earlier unanimous action in the state Senate on a related bill.
- •The legislation would give residents rights to access and delete personal data held by companies.
- •The bill would ban the sharing or sale of sensitive data, including precise location data, without explicit user consent.
- •If enacted, the law would apply to companies handling personal data of more than 100,000 consumers, affecting startups and large technology firms.
- •Because the location-data restriction would apply to both residents and visitors, the article says it would effectively ban the sale of location data across Massachusetts.