2020 Proposition 24: Everybody Likes More Data Privacy, Right?
I’m hoping to give readers an early glimpse of what to expect with the dozen proposals on the November statewide ballot.
Later on in the season I’ll post more materials on the higher profile measures under consideration.
As has been true with elections since 2012, I’ll endeavor to research and post about as many propositions and local elections as I can. I have no schedule, other than to say it will be done when it’s done.
One thing we can know for sure, tons of money will be spent to support or oppose the various propositions. Where that money comes from is, to me, more important than what the messages being pushed are. I’ll get around to more specifics on funding as the election approaches.
Here’s where we are:
Monday, July 13: Proposition 14, which asks Californians to continue to support stem cell research funding via bond sales.
Tuesday, July 14: Proposition 15, which seeks to amend the property tax structure so commercial land isn’t taking advantage of a law passed with protecting elders from excessive increases.
Wednesday, July 15: Proposition 16, which seeks to undo the state’s ban on affirmative action.
Thursday, July 16: Proposition 17, expanding voting rights to include parolees.
Friday, July 17: Proposition 18, the right to vote for 17 year olds
Monday, July 20: Proposition 19, Shuffling Tax Breaks & Making Realtors Happy
Tuesday, July 21: Proposition 20, Do We Really Need to Send More People to Jail?
Wednesday, July 22: Proposition 21, Rent Control All Over Again
Thursday, July 23: Proposition 22, Rules of the Road for Uber, et.al.
Friday, July 24: Proposition 23, Regulating Kidney Dialysis Clinics
Amends Consumer Privacy Laws. Initiative Statute
For: Californians for Consumer Privacy
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Endorsements | Text of Measure
Against: There is no single group coordinating opposition to Prop 24. The Consumer Federation of California, Color of Change, the American Civil Liberties Union, the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, California Alliance for Retired Americans, and Media Alliance have all come out in opposition to the measure.
Why - In 2018, a proposition concerning consumer privacy was pulled from the ballot as the legislature and Alastair Mactaggart, a San Francisco-based real estate developer/privacy advocate, reached a compromise.
The California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (CCPA).arose out of those negotiations
Two very important considerations in understanding the current state of affairs with privacy are:
The CCPA is --at the moment-- the broadest set of protections for internet users and consumers in the United States. California is light years ahead of just about everybody but the European Union with the present law in place.
Even though the law was passed in 2018, it did not go into full effect until July 1, 2020-- 27 days ago as of this posting.
None-the-less, MacTaggart is back for 2020 with the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA), granting web users in the Golden State new rights around their sensitive information, such their health and financial records or precise location.
From the Washington Post:
Consumers would have to give their permission before such data could be sold, and they would gain the ability to block companies from monetizing those sensitive insights through targeted ads.
Mactaggart’s proposal also includes the creation of an agency in California to enforce privacy protections, along with tougher penalties for mishaps involving children under age 16. And it would require companies to demystify their secret algorithms when such software is used to profile a person, such as determining their employment prospects or their ability to obtain housing, credit cards, loans or other key services.
The campaign by Mactaggart and his organization, Californians for Consumer Privacy, once again threatens to touch off an expensive, high-stakes war between consumer advocates and well-funded corporations in Silicon Valley and beyond. Many businesses have said that federal regulators, not those in the states, should set a national standard for online privacy. Yet Washington remains paralyzed by indecision, partisan gridlock and industry lobbying, and unable to write widely sought rules protecting privacy even after years of continued scandal.
Because the CCPA was passed by the legislature, it’s vulnerable to diluting amendments via Sacramento lobbyists, and potentially could be negated by federal legislation. One reason this revision was headed for the ballot before the law took full effect was the many attempts that have already been made to amend the law.
Fortunately, on the DC side of things, the Congress is too divided to get this sort of consumer legislation passed, and it’s highly unlikely the White House would sign off on anything limiting grift.
How--The ballot initiative collected over 900,000 signatures.
The Rest of the Story: Just about everybody wants their personal information protected, and stories about how that data is abused are regular sources of outrage.
The problem is that the vast majority of people have only a vague sense of what “protecting” data means, short of bad guys raiding your bank accounts. Opponents of the proposition say it doesn’t deliver what it promises.
"If Proposition 24 REALLY strengthened privacy provisions, we'd fight for it," reads a ballot argument signed by the ACLU, California Alliance for Retired Americans and Color of Change. "But the truth is, its 52 pages are full of giveaways to social media and tech giants.”
It’s kind of like those “Terms of Service” existing on most everything we frequent on the internet; almost nobody ever reads them and if they did study the language with the aid of #TOSTranslator and didn’t agree, they could be denied access.
By the time you’ve decided to consume information or engage in commerce on the internet, the Terms of Service are just some inconvenient language to be ignored in the course of acquiring whatever is desired.
I saw a claim in the course of researching this story saying that 88% of those surveyed would be likely to approve this measure.
The more you read, the more this proposition gets more confusing.
Tom Kemp’s blog makes Prop 24 sound like the best thing since sliced bread, and he goes into great detail on what he thinks the measure would do.
Privacy advocates are split over the measure, business groups aren’t happy because they just invested in the things needed to comply with the CCPA.
From Politico:
Mactaggart has said the intense industry lobbying effort that followed the law's passage was one of his motivations for advancing an initiative that would protect privacy protections. Steyer agreed, saying that provision "will ensure Californians’ strong privacy rights are not weakened in the future.”
But Richard Holober, president of the Consumer Federation of California, said he worries it will be "extremely difficult" for advocates to strengthen the law under the initiative's restrictions. His long list of critiques about the measure includes a provision that would extend to 2023 a short-term exemption for data that employers collect about employees and job applicants.
Holober also said he was sympathetic to the plight of small businesses that have just spent the past year figuring out how to comply with CCPA, only to learn that it might change.
"They're right to be upset," he said. "Give this thing some time and fix what needs fixing."
And if you dig even deeper, various blood feuds among the “privitaratie” get mentioned. Some people are against it because somebody they dislike is for it. Trust me, it’s that childish.
Nobody I know and trust has given me a reason to vote for Proposition 24 other than the fact that it’s harder to amend a voter-approved law than a legislature-approved law.
Don’t get me wrong, there are worthwhile and desirable aspects to the measure. People I do trust say we need to do better.
My inclination at this point will be to vote against it, simply because the coalition building and consensus needed to make good change has been replaced with one dude’s checkbook.
Voter Guide – You’ve Voted for President, what’s next?
I’ll be writing about many ballot measures and candidates between now and the end of September. That work will be condensed into an handy-dandy voter guide just in time for your mail-in ballots to arrive. I’m the guy who coordinated San Diego Free Press’s Voter Guides over the past decade, so this won’t be my first effort. Stay tuned.
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Lead graphic via Pixabay