Proposition 24 (also known California Privacy Rights Act or “CPRA”) includes a one-way ratchet: a simple majority of the California Legislature (with the Governor’s consent) can amend the law in any way that is pro-consumer-privacy; but no amendments that harm consumer privacy are permitted. This initiative puts a floor under privacy and ensures California will continue to have the strongest consumer privacy protections in the country, while allowing the law to grow and change with the times.

Below is a 1 minute video Alastair Mactaggart, Chair of Californians for Consumer Privacy, that discusses how Prop 24 can be amended to further enhance privacy.


And of course, this conclusion is also backed by California Constitutional legal scholars. Here is what David A. Carrillo, executive director of the California Constitution Center at Berkeley Law and editor of SCOCAblog.com, wrote on this topic:

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Proposition 24 defines minimum privacy protections and permits the legislature to increase them.

In 2018’s California Consumer Privacy Act the legislature enacted significant new consumer privacy protections. Proposition 24 will improve on that act by further increasing consumer privacy protection, and create a one-way ratchet: legislative amendments are permitted if they strengthen those protections even more. 

Such conditions on legislative amendments are a common initiative feature. The electorate can control (or entirely eliminate) the legislature’s ability to amend initiatives. California constitution article II, section 10(c) provides that the legislature “may amend or repeal an initiative statute by another statute that becomes effective only when approved by the electors unless the initiative statute permits amendment or repeal without their approval.” That gives the electorate complete control over legislative amendments to citizen initiatives.

Proposition 24 permits legislative amendments if those “amendments are consistent with and further the purpose and intent” of the measure, which is “to further protect consumers’ rights, including the constitutional right of privacy.” That allows the legislature to amend the measure — but only by increasing privacy protections. Courts will enforce whatever conditions the voters attached to the legislature’s amendatory powers, and generally legislative amendments consistent with the electorate’s expressed intent are permitted. Under that standard the legislature could for example amend Proposition 24 to add an opt-in regime, an expanded private right of action, or strengthen the law’s anti-discrimination features. Those amendments would be permitted because they are consistent with the measure’s conditions, Proposition 24 does not expressly bar them, and all would increase consumer protections and so are consistent with its intent.

Read the full legal analysis by David Carrillo here: http://scocablog.com/how-california-lives-with-two-legislatures/

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We agree with David and other scholars who clearly see that Prop 24 can be amended to enhance privacy.

But let’s step back and also remember that Prop 24 is a major step-forward in enhancing Californians privacy rights. Prop 24 gives consumers the power to take back control over our information from thousands of giant corporations by doing 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.

By voting Yes for Prop 24, you can take back control over your personal information from thousands of giant corporations. This is about power: the more a company knows about you, the more power it has to shape your daily lives. 

We believe that power should belong to each of us. That is why we urge you to Vote Yes on Prop 24 to better protect our kids’ online privacy, reduce Identity theft, and give you the privacy rights to take back control over your personal data.

Yes on Privacy and Yes on Prop 24!