privacy – Page 2 – Steve Blum's Blog

California’s consumer data privacy law survives lobbyist blitz, more or less intact

19 September 2019 by Steve Blum
ab375, becerra, privacy, public policy

Big tech, big telecom and big business made a big push in the legislature to water down California’s landmark data privacy law, AKA the California consumer privacy act. They won some minor victories as the 2019 session ended, but did not succeed in making major changes.

A blog post by Christina Hyun Jin Kroll in the National Law Review has a good run down of the bills that did and didn’t make it out of the legislature and onto governor Gavin Newsom’s desk.… More

California sits out Google anti-trust investigation

12 September 2019 by Steve Blum
ab25, ab375, privacy, public policy

Attorneys general from forty-eight states, plus the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia, launched a joint anti-trust investigation against Google on Monday, looking specifically at how the company handles online advertising. The group isn’t accusing Google of anything in particular yet, but they have their suspicions and if those prove out, an anti-trust lawsuit is sure to follow.

Only two states opted out of the investigation: Alabama and California. The absence of California attorney general Xavier Becerra from the group is puzzling to many, and he isn’t offering any hints.… More

Big broadband’s permission for, collection and use of customer info gets a federal review

5 April 2019 by Steve Blum
ab375, fcc, ftc, privacy, public policy

The privacy practices of four major broadband service providers and one big disruptor are getting a hard look from the Federal Trade Commission. Comcast, AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile and Google Fiber were given 45 days to produce detailed information about their business practices and subscribers, with particular emphasis on how they collect information about customers, whether it’s done with genuine permission, and what they do with it.

The information demanded by the FTC includes statistics on how many people actually read privacy policies, along with what promises to be a tall stack of those policies – every single one that’s been written by the companies, including copies that might be “different from the original because of notations on the copy”.… More

Federal online privacy cop needs direction, says GAO study

18 February 2019 by Steve Blum
ab375, fcc, ftc, privacy, public policy

The federal government’s primary consumer protection agency – the Federal Trade Commission – doesn’t think too hard about policing online privacy violations, according to a report by the General Accounting Office. Generally, the FTC can act when a company engages in unfair or deceptive business practices. Figuring out what’s fair and what’s not in cyberspace is a complete puzzle, and impenetrable terms of service and other digital fine print typically give companies a get out of jail free card to companies, the report notes…

Some stakeholders said that FTC relies more heavily on its authority to take enforcement action against deceptive trade practices compared with the agency’s unfair trade practices authority.

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Spreading high tech wealth and restricting self-employment on California governor’s to do list

14 February 2019 by Steve Blum
ab375, gavin newsom, PGE, privacy, public policy

California governor Gavin Newsom took aim at technology companies during his state of the state address on Tuesday. Although bullish on California’s high tech economy, he dangled the possibility of a tax on data…

California is proud to be home to technology companies determined to change the world. But companies that make billions of dollars collecting, curating and monetizing our personal data have a duty to protect it. Consumers have a right to know and control how their data is being used.

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New year but old questions for technology and telecoms policymakers

1 January 2019 by Steve Blum
monopoly, muni broadband, netneutrality, privacy, public policy

Five major broadband issues will top the public policy charts in California and at the federal level in 2019. In no particular order…

Net neutrality – The ball is in a federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., where arguments will be heard in February over whether the Federal Communications Commission acted properly in 2017 when it declared broadband is not a telecommunications service. California’s net neutrality law is on hold until that case plays out, which could take years.

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Consumer privacy law is back in play in Sacramento

7 December 2018 by Steve Blum
ab25, ab375, privacy, public policy

Monday’s brief meeting of the California legislature didn’t produce any broadband-related bills, with the possible exception of a placeholder introduced by assemblyman Ed Chau (D – Los Angeles). Assembly bill 25 would amend the privacy bill that California lawmakers passed in 2018, but it doesn’t say how.

California’s new privacy law puts tight restrictions on how online companies can use customer data, and how they have to safeguard it. Chau was the author of that bill, which was passed as part of a deal to keep an even tougher privacy initiative off of the November ballot.… More

California IoT law requires manufacturers to build security into connected devices

9 October 2018 by Steve Blum
iot, M2M, privacy, public policy

A pair of linked bills passed by the California legislature and signed into law late last month by governor Jerry Brown require manufacturers to preload passwords or install other security features on any kind of device that’s directly or indirectly connected to the Internet, beginning in 2020. Assembly bill 1906, carried by assemblywoman Jacqui Irwin (D – Ventura) and senate bill 327, authored by senator Hannah-Beth Jackson (D – Santa Barbara) are aimed at protecting privacy, and preventing the rise of botnets – networks of online devices that are infected with malware and used by cybercriminals for their own purposes.… More

California legislature to decide privacy, Internet commerce bills

26 August 2018 by Steve Blum
ab375, muni broadband, netneutrality, privacy, public policy

Consumer privacy, police surveillance, online retailing, bots and social media were all targets of bills introduced this year in the California legislature. One major bill already passed, a couple are dead and the rest are queued up for a decision this week, as lawmakers prepare to finish up the 2018 session on Friday.

Assembly bill 375 established strict consumer data privacy rules. It was signed into law by the governor earlier this year. It’s being tweaked, though.… More

California consumer privacy law, online and off, now on the books

29 June 2018 by Steve Blum
ab375, privacy, public policy

Californians will have control over the way their personal information is used by businesses, including online platforms. Probably. Governor Jerry Brown signed assembly bill 375 into law, after it was approved by the state senate and assembly in whirlwind fashion yesterday. According to the analysis prepared by staff for the assembly privacy and communications committee – which is chaired by the bill’s author, assemblyman Ed Chau (D – Monterey Park) – consumers will gain…

The right to know what [personal information (PI)] is being collected about them and whether their PI is being sold and to whom; the right to access their PI; the right to delete PI collected from them; the right to opt-out or opt-in to the sale of their PI, depending on age of the consumer; and the right to equal service and price, even if they exercise such right.

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