Consumer Groups Blast Tech Industry Proposal to ‘Weaken’ California Privacy Law

Consumer, civil liberties and privacy groups accused the tech industry of attempting to significantly weaken consumer privacy protections included in a recently passed California bill. In a Monday letter to state legislators, the American Civil Liberties Union, Center for Digital Democracy, Consumer Watchdog, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Public Knowledge and others accused industry groups of trying to “fundamentally water down the [California Consumer Privacy Act’s] privacy protections” via their separate Aug. 6 letter to legislators. Internet Association, NetChoice, Software & Information Industry Association, CTA and Consumer Data Industry Association were among those signing that missive. Monday’s letter opposed the industry proposal to remove consumers’ “ability to access specific pieces of their personal information.” The groups raised several other issues about industry’s proposal, including: removing “the requirement that data be provided in a readily useable format,” limiting definition for personal information, weakening protections for minors and making a consumer opt-out process “needlessly complicated.”