Big paws on this puppy, but will it survive gathering federal storm clouds?
Privacy Promises
California Assembly member Jordan Cunningham and four of his fellow Republican colleagues announced a surprisingly robust data privacy bill at the end of January that would strengthen, not weaken, consumer privacy rights expanded last year by the landmark California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA).
Assembly Bill 288, nicknamed the "Your Data, Your Way" bill, will offer "the strongest consumer privacy protections in the country," according to its sponsors. And AB288 definitely swings for the fences. There are three companion bills that have not yet been released that are poised to add to the proposed additional protections.
The Takeaway
The bill will force social media companies to delete a user's data when the user decides to leave the service. Children under 16 will not be allowed to use a social media platform without a parent or guardian's consent. In the event of a data breach, companies are required to inform users of the breach within three days (i.e., 72 hours).
There are also voice data protections and a call for updates to federal antitrust laws "to protect consumers and level the playing field in the 21st century economy" – suggesting that controlling too much consumer data might be seen as an antitrust violation.
The bill's got chutzpah, but it barely made a ripple in the media when it was announced, perhaps because it was introduced in the long shadow of the CCPA, which Governor Brown signed back in July. The gargantuan CCPA, which is currently delayed until 2020, is still gathering momentum, picking up amendments and attracting high-profile enemies who'd like to federally pre-empt it all together. Eight other states have joined California in proposing comprehensive consumer privacy legislation. Massachusetts' bill would provide a broad private right of action for any violations. While most borrow from the CCPA, Washington state instead looks to and copies from the EU's General Data Protection Regulation. We will be tracking all the various state and federal proposals and updating you on which gain momentum.
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