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A majority of Californians reportedly voted to approve Proposition 24, the California Privacy Rights Act, that would strengthen protections around the use of personal data by businesses.
According to Business Insider, over 50% of California’s voters agreed to pass the law. The law will set the strictest standard for privacy of digital information in the nation.
The bill strengthens existing data protection laws for Californians by requiring companies to get permission from consumers to collect and/or sell their personal information, CNet reported. Proponents say that, under the law, consumers should be given a simple option when interacting online, such as a button to indicate they do not want their data to be collected or sold.
Personal information that will be protected by Prop. 24 reportedly includes things such as genetic information, location, sexual orientation, race and religion. Business Insider reports the law also restricts companies from using their websites to track user data and from selling this information to advertisers — an action that provides most of the revenue for tech giants like Google and Facebook.
The new privacy provisions will reportedly go into effect in 2023, at which point a state agency created by the law will enforce it. The agency will be made up of a board with five members who will be appointed by the governor, attorney general, California’s Senate and the speaker of the Assembly.
“We are at the beginning of a journey that will profoundly shape the fabric of our society by redefining who is in control of our most personal information and putting consumers back in charge of their own data,” Alastair Mactaggart, the sponsor and main proponent of Prop. 24, said in a statement, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The L.A. Times reports Prop. 24 will bring California’s digital privacy laws more in line with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) that went into effect in Europe and changed the landscape for tech companies.
According to the L.A. Times, many details about how the law will be implemented have yet to be worked out and tech companies will be monitoring the composition of the board closely.
Indeed, while the law was passed by California, it may have a ripple effect on the use of personal data nationwide.
CNet reports that requirements under a previous consumer data privacy law in the state were expanded by many companies to cover all U.S. residents and some states passed similar laws as a result.
The new law reportedly builds on a 2018 measure passed by the California state legislature that gave residents the ability to request data records from companies, along with the right to ask companies to delete their personal information or not to sell it.
However, proponents of Prop. 24 say the resulting user interface allowing consumers to limit how companies use their data is confusing.
Prop. 24 advocates say that, under the new law, this process could be clearer, with a simple opt-out button or setting that notifies companies if a consumer does not want their data collected or sold.
Opponents of the bill reportedly argued that the law would actually infringe on consumers’ privacy, while others contended it missed out on additional measures to protect consumer data.
According to The L.A. Times, various consumer privacy rights groups, including the Consumer Federation of California and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), opposed the new privacy initiative.
Reportedly, the law can allow companies to charge consumers for the right to opt-out of the sale of their personal information, the advocates pointed out. Additionally, advocates said the measure should allow individuals to file lawsuits for the alleged misuse of their data under the law.
Still others reportedly argued the law would disproportionately affect small businesses that would find it too expensive to implement while also dealing with the economic fall out from the continuing coronavirus pandemic.
“Now is the time for the California Legislature to build on Proposition 24,” an attorney for the ACLU reportedly said in a statement after it was clear the bill had passed, “to make sure that companies get permission before using or sharing our personal information, prohibit companies from charging us more for exercising our fundamental rights, and impose substantial consequences on companies that break the law.”
Keep on top of 2020 election matters! TCA has compiled information on consumer and legal issues affected by the recent election.
Did you vote on Proposition 24? What do you think of the new California Privacy Rights Act? Tell us in the comment section below.
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