Privacy Notice

1. Purpose and Legal Authority
   The Alcohol, Tobacco, and Cannabis Commission (ATCC) is committed to protecting the privacy of Maryland residents while fulfilling our regulatory and law enforcement duties. The ATCC collects, maintains, and processes Personal Information (PI) and Personally Identifiable Information (PII) solely when necessary to accomplish a legitimate government purpose. This includes administering licenses, permits, inspections, investigations, adjudications, and enforcing the alcohol, tobacco, and cannabis laws of the State of Maryland.
2. Information We Collect
   To fulfill our statutory obligations, the ATCC may collect personal information including, but not limited to: names, addresses, contact information, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers (ITINs), government-issued identification numbers, criminal background records, and business financial records.
3. Automatic Information Collection
   When you browse the ATCC website, certain technical information about your visit may be automatically collected through State website systems and Google Analytics. This may include your browser and device information, operating system, date and time of your visit, pages viewed, interactions with website content, approximate geographic location, and information about how you reached or navigated the site. The ATCC uses this information to understand website traffic and usage trends, evaluate website performance, and improve our digital services.

4. Site Security and Monitoring
   To ensure that the ATCC digital platforms remain secure and available to all users, the ATCC employs software programs to monitor network traffic to identify unauthorized attempts to upload or change information, or otherwise cause damage. Except for authorized law enforcement investigations into cyber-threats or fraud, no other attempts are made to identify individual users or their usage habits through these technical logs.
5. Consequences of Refusal to Provide Information
   Providing personal information to the ATCC is generally required to process applications, renew licenses, or resolve complaints. If an individual refuses to provide the requested personal information, the ATCC may be unable to process a license application, grant a permit, or conduct a requested administrative review.
6. Data Sharing and Protection Against Commercial Sale
   The ATCC will not sell, rent, or lease your personal records, geolocation data, or sensitive data to third parties for commercial use, targeted advertising, or data brokerage. We may share your personal information with other governmental entities or third-party processors only when authorized by law or strictly necessary to perform an ATCC function. Additionally, authorized ATCC law enforcement officers may share investigative or sensitive information with federal, State, or local law enforcement agencies for legitimate criminal investigative or public safety purposes.

7. Public Inspection and the Maryland Public Information Act (PIA)
   As a State agency, the ATCC is subject to the Maryland Public Information Act (Md. Code Ann., Gen. Prov. §§ 4-101 et seq.). Unless an exemption applies, some personal information collected by the ATCC may be subject to public inspection if requested by a third party. However, in accordance with Md. Code Ann., State Gov’t § 10-1702, the ATCC actively minimizes and redacts personal and geolocation data to protect residents against secondary commercial exploitation.
8. Your Right to Inspect and Correct
   Under Maryland law, individuals generally have the right to inspect personal records maintained by the ATCC that pertain to them. You also have the right to request the correction or amendment of any inaccurate personal information. To request an inspection or correction of your records, please contact the ATCC Records Custodian at [email protected].

(Note: Certain records, including active law enforcement investigatory files, may be exempt from inspection under applicable law).