Californians have approved Proposition 24, a ballot measure to expand the state’s landmark Consumer Privacy Act of 2018. The measure was passing with 56% of the vote on Wednesday.
Proposition 24 – also known as the California Privacy Rights and Enforcement Act of 2020 – will create a new state agency to enforce the CCPA. It will also create different tiers of data, levying stiffer fines on the misuse of “sensitive” data, like location or race. However, only companies that buy and sell the data from at least 100,000 customers a year would have to comply.
“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,” said Alastair Mactaggart, chair of Californians for Consumer Privacy and Proposition 24’s sponsor. “I’m looking forward to the work ahead and the next steps in implementing this law, including setting up a commission that is dedicated to protecting consumers online.”
The CCPA, which took effect in January of this year, requires companies to disclose what data they are collecting while allowing consumers to limit or stop collection. Under the legislation, however, consumers can sue companies only if negligence led to the exposure of their data. Otherwise, the option to litigate remains with the state attorney general’s office.
The general outlines of the CCPA owe much to what was originally a ballot proposition also backed by Mactaggart, a Bay Area real estate developer, in 2018. He agreed to drop the ballot measure in exchange for more easily amendable legislation, but unhappy with the amendments that followed, he decided to finance another ballot measure, Proposition 24, framing it as his preferred set of “fixes” to the CCPA.
Mactaggart spent more than $6.5 million on Proposition 24, dwarfing the amount donated by any other supporter and the $52,000 raised by the campaign against it.
“It’s unexpectedly close, which affirms that Californians’ privacy rights are not for sale. Thankfully, groups like ACLU and EFF will fight for truly strong privacy legislation to give all Americans control over their personal information,” said Mary Ross, erstwhile ally of Mactaggart who led the No on 24 campaign.
Its complexity – the measure runs over 50 pages – was an impediment to widespread enthusiasm and debate. Many privacy watchers say California voters like data privacy as a general concept, and were willing to presume the best about Proposition 24.
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– Rachael Myrow (@rachaelmyrow)
