California lawmaker continues push for data privacy in new bill

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (CN) — Privacy concerns and federal immigration enforcement led a California lawmaker to unveil legislation Tuesday intended to curb the sale of sensitive digital data.

Assemblymember Chris Ward, a San Diego Democrat, said Assembly Bill 1542 will target brokers of digital information. It would put guardrails on the collection, use and sale of certain personal information, like genetic details and sexual orientation.

“Data privacy must remain a priority for this Legislature,” Ward said. “It is imperative that California take a lot of bold action.”

The bill is a companion to two others written by Ward: Assembly Bills 322 and 1337. The first focuses on banning the sale of geolocation data, while the latter updates legal language defining “personal information,” among other moves. They remain pending in the legislative process.

Overlap exists in the bills. Ward said he wanted multiple avenues to attain his data privacy goals.

“Certainly, we have a long road ahead of us as we kick off the legislative year,” Ward said.

Several people spoke in support of the legislation.

The trading of personal digital data is a reality. Justin Brookman, director of tech policy with Consumer Reports, said some businesses already use such data to charge people different prices for the same products.

“It’s our data and there should be reasonable rules about what they can do with it,” he added.

The concerns over data privacy aren’t limited to retailers, but extend to survivors of domestic abuse and immigrants.

Lan Le, policy advocate for Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California, said data is easily sold. Her organization has seen how inadequate safeguards affect people.

For example, a survivor might not seek a court protection order for fear their data will get misused. Le said she’s seen enrollment in some health care programs drop for similar reasons.

“The right to privacy shouldn’t disappear the moment someone turns on their phone,” she added.

Ward said that fear extends to immigrants, as federal agents can rely on personal, digital data to monitor their locations. Surveillance like that violates people’s privacy and puts lives at risk.

“And that’s why I’m introducing AB 1542,” he added.

Tracy Rosenberg, executive director of Oakland Privacy, said Ward’s three bills attack the current dystopia, tweaking the existing Information Practices Act of 1977 and bringing it up to date.

All government agencies must abide by the same rules while maintaining transparency and disclosure laws, she said. These guardrails are needed to ensure the right to privacy isn’t merely words on a page.

John Bennet, initiative director with the California Initiative for Technology and Democracy, said personal data is collected without people’s knowledge or consent. He warned only a few data points are needed to reveal someone’s identity that the government could use for draconian immigration enforcement.

People can’t rely on the good will of companies to institute their own rules about personal data, he added.

The bills face different paths through the legislative process.

Just introduced, Assembly Bill 1542 hasn’t yet been assigned to a committee.

The other two bills, introduced last year, are at different points in the process.

Assembly Bill 1337 made it to the state Senate, though it failed to pass that chamber’s Judiciary Committee. However, the committee granted it reconsideration and another vote on it is possible.

Ward said Assembly Bill 322 needs more work. Also in the Senate, it reached that body’s Appropriations Committee. It didn’t receive a key vote there, though it remains alive.