EPIC Testifies in Support of Three Tech Policy Bills in Maryland

EPIC counsel Kara Williams testified in support of a series of tech policy bills in Maryland that would put commonsense safeguards on chatbots, prohibit surveillance pricing in grocery stores, and establish a data broker registry.  

The chatbot bill, H.B. 1250, is based on EPIC’s People-First Chatbot Bill. EPIC testified in strong support of the bill, which would require companies to put privacy and data processing guardrails on chatbots, regularly remind users that chatbots are not human, require companies to assess and mitigate risks, and ensure there are robust liability and enforcement mechanisms in place so that companies can be held accountable for chatbot harms.  

The Protection from Predatory Pricing Act, H.B. 895, would ban food retailers from engaging in surveillance pricing. This bill is a priority bill for Gov. Wes Moore. EPIC testified in favor of the bill but recommended several amendments to further strengthen protections for Marylanders, including expanding the scope of the surveillance pricing ban beyond grocery stores.  

The third bill, H.B. 1220, would establish a data broker registry in Maryland. If passed, Maryland would be the fifth state with such a registry, after California, Vermont, Oregon, and Texas. EPIC strongly supports this effort to provide Marylanders with more transparency into the opaque data broker industry, and we recommended the Committee also consider establishing a centralized deletion mechanism for consumers like California did through the Delete Act. 

These bills all have companion bills in the Senate. EPIC testified to the Senate Finance Committee supporting the companion versions of the data broker registry and surveillance pricing bills, and we will support the Senate version of the chatbots bill when it is heard in the Committee next week.