This holiday season, Santa Claus isn’t the only one who knows when you are sleeping, knows when you’re awake, and knows if you’ve been bad or good.

That’s because large data brokers are able to buy and sell sensitive data from your cell phone, like location data, without your consent.

Let’s do something about it.

Back in September, the Massachusetts Senate passed a robust data privacy bill that would prevent the purchase and sale of such sensitive data, along with other important measures to strengthen privacy rights.

And last month, the House took the first step toward joining the Senate by voting a robust data privacy bill out of committee.

It’s important that momentum doesn’t stall over the holidays.

Big Tech companies like Facebook and Google are going to try to water down the bill, so your legislators need to hear from YOU about the importance of getting strong legislation done early in the new year.

Write to your state rep today!

This Saturday, thousands of us rallied on the Boston Common and around the state (and the country) to protest the chaos, cruelty, and corruption of the Trump administration — with a message of “Hands Off.”

If you went to a rally this weekend, you know what time you arrived, when you left, and where you went next. Your friends and family might know that too.

But do you know who doesn’t need to know that? Bad actors like Elon Musk.

Right now, there is no law that prevents anyone with a credit card from purchasing cell phone location data.

The purchase and sale of cell phone location data empowers bad actors: right-wing extremists seeking to target individuals seeking abortion care or gender-affirming care, domestic abusers seeking to track their victims, predatory bosses seeking to spy on their employees. The list goes on.

Fortunately, the solution is clear: our Legislature can pass the Location Shield Act (H.86 / S.197), which would ban the purchase and sale of cell phone location data.

The bill has had overwhelming support in the Legislature this session, and it will be having a hearing this Wednesday.

Here’s what you can do:

• Check here to find out if your state rep and state senator are already co-sponsors of the bill.
• If they are co-sponsors, email them hereto thank them and urge them to push for quick passage of the bill.
• If they are not yet co-sponsors, email them to urge them to support the bill.
• Feel especially passionate about the issue? Send your testimony to the Joint Committee on Advanced IT. The Location Shield Act hearing is this Wednesday at 1 pm in Room A-1, and the ACLU is organizing a lit drop before at 11:45 am. Reproductive Equity Now has a handy testimony-writing guide here.