Maine Gov. Janet Mills (D) signed into law one of the nation's strongest privacy bills on Thursday, banning internet service providers (ISPs) from using, selling or distributing consumer data without their consent.
The bill was approved unanimously last week by the Maine Senate, and was sponsored by Maine state Sen. Shenna Bellows (D).
Bellows said in a statement that the law makes Maine "first and best in the nation in protecting consumer privacy online.”.
It blocks ISPs from selling customers' personal data from third parties, which is not currently prevented at the federal level.
The Maine privacy law comes as lawmakers on Capitol Hill seek to hammer out the country's first comprehensive privacy bill.
Gigi Sohn, former adviser at the FCC under the Obama administration, in a statement applauded the Maine law.
"When the federal government stands down, the states must step up, and that is what Maine has done here," she added. »