It’s been a while since we blogged, but here at Californians for Consumer Privacy, we have been busy the last 8 months.  Amazingly, over 930,000 of our fellow Californians — more people than the population of states like Wyoming or Vermont, Alaska or North Dakota — signed our petition to add the California Privacy Rights Act (also known as the “CPRA”) to the November Ballot.

The California Secretary of State labeled our ballot measure as Proposition 24, which we will refer to as “Prop 24.”   [We think #24 is a great omen, as that is the same jersey number as great California athletes like Willie Mays, Rickey Henderson, Kobe Bryant and Rick Barry.  But we digress!]  

In this short blog we will give an overview of Prop 24, tell you why it is super important to Californians like you, and why you should vote Yes for Prop 24.  Or you can simply watch this 1 minute video by Alastair Mactaggart, Chair of Californians for Consumer Privacy.

So, just what is Prop 24 aka the CPRA?  

Prop 24 gives consumers the power to take back control over our information from thousands of giant corporations.  Prop 24 will do the following:

  • Protect your most personal information, by allowing you to prevent businesses from using or sharing sensitive information about your health, finances, race ethnicity, and precise location;
  • Safeguard young people, TRIPLING FINES for violations involving children’s information;
  • Put new limits on companies’ collection and use of our personal information;
  • Establish an enforcement arm—the California Privacy Protection Agency—to defend these rights and hold companies accountable, and extend enforcement including IMPOSING PENALTIES FOR NEGLIGENCE resulting in theft of consumers’ emails and passwords;
  • MAKE IT MUCH HARDER TO WEAKEN PRIVACY in California in the future, by preventing special interests and politicians from undermining Californians’ privacy rights, while allowing the Legislature to amend the law to further the primary goal of strengthening consumer privacy to better protect you and your children, such as opt-in for use of data, further protections for uniquely vulnerable minors, and greater power for individuals to hold violators accountable.

And why is Prop 24 super important to Californians?

The world’s largest corporations are buying and selling your most personal information, often without your knowledge or permission. They track every place you’ve ever visited, every private online search you’ve ever made, and even collect private health information about you and your family. 

The opportunities for you to get employment, open a bank account, get credit or insurance, and secure housing are endangered by the unrestricted collection, processing, sale and even misuse of your personal information.

Your personal data is increasingly the fuel that powers their businesses, and you are the collateral damage, with no power or control over your own data.  

But don’t we already have a privacy law called the CCPA?  And why do we need a new law?

California took the first step in 2018 to allow Californians to take control of their personal data.  This effort was led by the group Californians for Consumer Privacy.  After Big Tech companies raised millions of dollars against them, Californians for Consumer Privacy was able to work with the Legislature to get passed the California Consumer Privacy Act, also known as the CCPA.

Unfortunately, many of these same Big Tech and Data Broker businesses are right now actively working to undermine and water down the privacy rights you have as Californians, while finding new and more destructive ways to use your personal data.

So this is where Prop 24 comes in.  Prop 24 is authored by Californians for Consumer Privacy who fought for you and brought you the United States’ most comprehensive privacy law with the CCPA.  Prop 24 represents the “Version 2” upgrade to California’s existing privacy law to keep pace and further rein in Big Tech and the use of your personal data.

Should I vote Yes for Prop 24?

Yes!  Proposition 24 gives Californians the power to take back control over our information from thousands of giant corporations.  

First and foremost, Prop 24 safeguards our children’s online privacy by tripling fines for collecting and selling our children’s personal information.  And it would require opt-in consent to sell personal data from consumers under the age of 16.

Second, Prop 24 helps to protects our personal data from the risk of Identity Theft by holding businesses more accountable to better protect our usernames and passwords.

Third, Prop 24 creates new rights that lets us stop businesses from using our most sensitive personal information, including about our health or finances, or knowing and selling our location without our knowledge or consent.

And finally, Prop 24 establishes an enforcement arm to help California residents counter large Big Tech and Data Brokers from sucking up all our personal data.

By voting Yes for Prop 24, you can take back control over your personal information from thousands of giant corporations. Say Yes on Privacy and Yes on Prop 24!