Bill > H297

This bill establishes new privacy rights for certain supermarket customers in Massachusetts by creating Chapter 93H, which defines terms like "supermarket" (a retail company selling perishable food with at least 300 employees and 4 locations in the state), "consumer," and "nonpublic personal information" (personally identifiable information collected by the supermarket). Supermarkets must clearly inform consumers, at the time of enrollment in discount programs, about their policies on sharing nonpublic personal information with outside companies, known as "nonaffiliated third parties," and provide consumers with an option to opt-out of such sharing; if a consumer doesn't give written consent, the supermarket must assume they do not want their information shared. Consumers who leave these discount programs automatically withdraw any consent to share their information, and the bill outlines exceptions where sharing is permitted, such as for security, fraud prevention, dispute resolution, or to comply with legal investigations. Violations of this chapter will be considered unfair and deceptive trade practices, with enforcement powers granted to the Executive Office of Consumer Affairs and the Massachusetts Attorney General.