California GOP Defend CCPA Against Federal Preemption
Four Republican Assemblymembers from California sent a letter to the leaders of the US Senate Commerce Committee and US House Energy & Commerce Committee yesterday defending the California Consumer Privacy Act and urging Congress to reject calls for preemption of state privacy laws.
The letter comes ahead of the Senate Commerce Committee’s hearing on Policy Principles for a Federal Data Privacy Framework next Wednesday. The House Energy Committee’s Consumer Protection and Commerce Subcommittee will also meet next week (Tuesday) on Protecting Consumer Privacy in the Era of Big Data.
The California letter was signed by the legislators responsible for the #YourDataYourWay legislation that they started to introduce on Data Privacy Day in January. The new laws would:
– Give consumers the right to have their social media information deleted when they close their account.
– Prohibit smart speaker manufacturers from storing and/or data mining voice recordings.
– Mandate that social media companies receive verifiable parental consent for new users under 16.
– Mandate 72 hour data breach notifications for breach victims.
The legislators also urged Congress to investigate antitrust and competition tools at their disposal to end the use of monopolistic power to monetize personal data without consumer consent. They asked Congress to “encourage the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice to open antitrust investigations into the largest tech companies” as well as consider possible revisions to the Sherman Act and Clayton Act to create a robust and competitive marketplace in social media.
Germany has been one of the leaders in this space, with the Federal Cartel Office (FCO) investigating Facebook for its dominant practices in social media. The FCO recently ordered Facebook to stop collecting data on its users from other website properties without explicit consent. This applied to both data collected from other Facebook owned properties such as Instagram and Whatsapp as well as third-party websites where Facebook also collects data because its tools or like button are placed on the site by the developer.
The California GOP letter follows an interview in November by the California Attorney General where he also urged Congress not to preempt the CCPA with a weak privacy law. In addition, Assemblymember Ed Chau, chair of the California Assembly Committee on Privacy and Consumer Protection, had a recent letter to the editor published by the New York Times where he asked the public whether we want to take a step backword by having the federal government “establish a national standard for regulating consumer privacy that could erase those protections.”
The Committee on Privacy and Consumer Protection is holding a hearing today at 9 AM (Pacific) on “Understanding the Rights, Protections, and Obligations Established by the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018: Where should California go from here?” The agenda has been released. It is:
1. Welcome and Opening Remarks by Chair and Committee Members
2. Background and Comparison to GDPR
3. Attorney General’s Regulatory Process Status Update and CCPA Policy Comments
4. CCPA Workability and Clarity Issues at Debate
5. Looking Ahead: Maintaining a Lead in Privacy
6. Public Comment
7. Closing Remarks by Chair and Committee Members
There will be a total of 15 speakers, including the Supervising Deputy Attorney General of the Consumer Law Section – Privacy Unit in the California Department of Justice. Her comments in the third section of the informational hearing could be very interesting if they provide any substantive insight into where the Attorney General’s office in leaning on the rulemaking process. We will be following the live webcast of the hearing and providing updates on our twitter: @claripinc.
Other Relevant Posts:
Next Stop for CCPA Amendments AB-25 and AB-874 is an Assembly Floor Vote
Highlights of the CA Privacy Committee Hearing Yesterday on CCPA Amendments
How to Prepare for CCPA Compliance Given the Uncertain Amendments and Regulations
CCPA Amendments to be Heard in April 23rd California Assembly Privacy Committee Hearing
Senate Judiciary Committee Recommends SB 561, the Expanded CCPA Private Right of Action
Latest on the Proposed CCPA Amendments
AB-25 Proposes CCPA Amendment to Exclude Employees from New Privacy Law
CCPA Regulation Recommendations by EFF to CA Attorney General
Highlights of CCPA Rulemaking Comments by IAB and ANA
CCPA Amendment & Consumer Privacy Bills in California legislature in Feb. 2019
California AG Supports Proposed CCPA Amendments in SB 561
CA Dems Defend CCPA Against Preemption; California Holds CCPA Hearing on Changes
More Technical Amendments Suggested for CCPA; CA GOP Introduce Another Privacy Bill
Advertising & Marketing Groups Send AG Letter Seeking Flexibility on CCPA