Maine Repeals Law Restricting Data That Can Be Collected From Minors

A Maine legislative committee voted Thursday to repeal a controversial 2009 online marketing law, which was widely seen as unconstitutional, that restricts the data that can be collected from minors in the state. The bill's sponsor, state senator Elizabeth Schneider, also withdrew a proposal for a narrower measure that would have only banned companies from collecting data about minors for the purpose of marketing prescription drugs to them. Schneider said Thursday that even the more limited measure raised constitutional issues that could put the state at risk of litigation, according to a legislative analyst. NetChoice -- a coalition of Web companies including AOL, eBay, News Corp. and Yahoo -- cheered Schneider's decision to withdraw her proposal for a new online marketing law. "She understood that the legislation could cause grief for the state -- legally and financially," said NetChoice's policy counsel Braden Cox. The full Maine legislature is expected to vote on the repeal within a few weeks.