Proposition 24

Proposition 24

October 28, 2020

PROPOSITION 24: What Do You Have To Hide? 

Brian Wagner & Amitiel Ashley-Haran
Quick Information:
Why Vote Yes:
Proposition 24 will increase California consumer protection and privacy. Voting YES will put in place new guidelines for businesses to follow:

  • Businesses would no longer be able to share a consumer’s personal information upon request.
  • Businesses must implement an opt-out option for consumers who don’t want their personal information to be used for advertising.
  • Businesses would be required to ask for permission before collecting data from consumers under the age of 16. 
  • A parent or guardian of a consumer under the age of 13 must give permission to a business before it can collect data from that consumer.
  • Businesses must change a consumer’s inaccurate information upon request from the consumer. 

Voting YES on Prop 24 will also see the creation of the Privacy Protection Agency. This new agency will ensure that businesses are following the new guidelines and will prosecute any violators. Vote YES on Prop 24.  

Why Vote No:

Proposition 24 will hurt California consumer protection and privacy. Voting NO will keep consumer data privacy laws the same and will prevent the following from hurting California consumers:

  • Prop 24 allows big companies to create “pay for privacy” schemes in which consumers who don’t allow companies to sell their information will be charged more.
  • Prop 24 increases the burden on people to protect themselves against companies. Those who don’t want their information sold will have to make sure they select opt-out on every website they visit.
  • Prop 24 would also make it so workers would have to wait for years just so they can learn what private information their employers collect on them.

Voting YES on Prop 24 will not increase consumer privacy. In fact, it will do the complete opposite. Prop 24 will create even more loopholes for big businesses to use in order to profit off of our information and it will weaken the original Consumer Privacy Act from 2018. Vote NO on Prop 24.

Summary & History:

When the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 was passed by state Legislatures, it, in theory, provided new protections for individuals’ data. But it exempted service providers. As long as companies signed a contract stating they were handling the data to provide other companies a service, there were no restrictions.

The law, which was ratified in 2019, also put no restrictions on sharing data—only putting restrictions on selling it—which many large tech companies took advantage of.

Proposition 24, the California Privacy Rights Act of 2020, attempts to fill some of the gaps in the original 2018 law, as well as switch the policing of the internet from the attorney general’s office to a new dedicated state agency—the California Privacy Protection Agency—in charge of enforcing the law and adding specifics and exceptions to this proposition.

Californians for Consumer Privacy, the group fronting the support for Prop 24, states that you have the right to “know what personal information a business has collected on you” to “say no to the sale of your personal information” and to “hold businesses responsible for safeguarding your personal information.”

Many, though, including the ACLU, believe this proposition is not enough, or even a step back from the original 2018 law.

“Prop 24 benefits big tech and corporate interests, and will disproportionately harm vulnerable communities like Black and Latinx families and the elderly,” Jake Snow, Tech and Civil Liberties Attorney with ACLU of Northern California writes.

Internet Association, a group that represents some of the largest internet-based companies, including Facebook, Google, and Amazon, has repeatedly declined comment. And neither the Internet Association nor the Chamber of Commerce have formally taken a position on Prop 24. They have also not spent money campaigning on either side.

Financing:

The majority of funding for this proposition comes from Alastair Mactaggart, a San Francisco-based real estate developer, who wrote the original California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018, as well. Mactaggart is the only one on either side with a major financial stake in this proposition, having spent approximately $5,866,162.03, as of October 17. The total contribution in support of the proposition was $5,916,122.03, with the only other major contribution coming from Bill Dodd Ballot Measure Committee for Progress, Reform & a Stronger California, who contributed $20,000.

The small opposition of $51,954.70 comes primarily from the Consumer Federation of California, who spent $25,000, and the California Nurses Association Initiative Political Action Committee, who spent $20,000.