Sacramento, CA — Today, the Yes on Prop 24 campaign announced that Prop 24 would give Californians the fundamental right to have their personal information kept safe. Specifically, Prop 24 requires businesses that collect personal information to keep that information secure from theft. Prop 24 is endorsed by Consumer Reports, Consumer Watchdog and Common Sense Media.
“Some of the biggest tech companies have refused to honor Californians’ requests to stop the disclosure of their information for behavioral advertising, and they’re lobbying for exemptions for these practices in other states,” said Maureen Mahoney, policy analyst at Consumer Reports. “California consumers should use their power as citizens to vote for Proposition 24 to show that they will stand up for themselves if companies and legislators won’t.”
“As co-sponsors of the California Consumer Privacy Act, we are pleased to support Californians for Consumer Privacy on this measure, which will ensure Californians’ strong privacy rights are not weakened in the future,” said James P. Steyer, founder & CEO of Common Sense. “California was the first state to pass a comprehensive privacy law to protect consumers’ personal data. This year, the people of California have a chance to make us the first state with a Privacy Protection Agency to enforce those rights and hold Big Tech accountable.”
“Under Prop 24, a consumer can limit the use of their sensitive information to stop Uber from profiling them based on race, stop Spotify from utilizing their precise geo-location and prevent Facebook from using their sexual orientation, health status or religion in its algorithms,” said Carmen Balber, Consumer Watchdog’s executive director. “In addition, Californians won’t have to worry about the legislature repealing key privacy rights, will have stronger rights to personally enforce privacy laws and will have the protection of a well-staffed and funded European-style privacy commission to protect their rights.”
About Prop 24 / The California Privacy Rights Act
Proposition 24 would:
- 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.
Yes on 24 Supporters
The Yes on Prop 24 campaign is proud to have the endorsement of former Presidential candidate Andrew Yang, Los Angeles Times editorial board, Sacramento Bee and Fresno Bee editorial board, Congressman Ro Khanna, California Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis, California State Controller Betty Yee, San Francisco Mayor London Breed, Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf, Consumer Reports, Common Sense Media, Consumer Watchdog, AFSCME California, the NAACP of California, California Professional Firefighters, California State Building and Construction Trades Council, International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, Local 21 (Bay Area), UA Local 38 Plumbers and Pipefitters, California State Senators Ben Allen, Bill Dodd, Lena Gonzalez, Connie Leyva, Bill Monning, Nancy Skinner, Robert Hertzberg, Scott Wiener, Bob Wieckowski and Jim Beall, California State Assemblymembers Cecilia Aguiar-Curry and David Chiu, John Burton, Former Chair of the California Democratic Party, Alex Rooker and Daraka Larimore Hall, Vice Chairs of the California Democratic Party, Dan Weitzman, Controller of the California Democratic Party, Jenny Bach, Secretary of the California Democratic Party, Dr. Lisa Strohman, JD, PhD, and more.
About Californians for Consumer Privacy
Californians for Consumer Privacy is the same group that authored the first-in-the-nation California Consumer Privacy Act, which was passed unanimously by the California State Legislature and signed into law by California Governor Jerry Brown. Now the group is backing Prop 24, the California Privacy Rights Act on the 2020 ballot, to expand and enshrine privacy rights for all Californians.