San Francisco—The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is standing with Californians demanding more control over their personal data by supporting the Privacy For All bill, which requires tech companies to get their permission to share and use private information.

“All eyes are on California, which has taken the lead nationwide in passing a historic consumer privacy bill at a time when people across the country are outraged by the privacy abuses they read about every day,” said EFF Legislative Counsel Ernesto Falcon. “Privacy For All improves on the existing privacy law so that consumers can control who gets access to their data and how the data is being used.”

Privacy For All was introduced in Sacramento today by Assemblymember Buffy Wicks and has the support of a broad coalition of 14 consumer advocacy groups, including the ACLU, Common Sense Kids Action, Consumer Federation of America, and Privacy Rights Clearinghouse.

Privacy For All

• Requires companies to get permission to share personal data, whether they are selling it, loaning it out, or giving app developers access to it. Currently, the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) requires permission only for the sale of personal information. Facebook claims it doesn’t “sell” its customers’ data—but we know it has given it away to developers and companies like Cambridge Analytica—so the existing rule wouldn’t cover Facebook.
• Gives Californians the right to know what personal information companies have collected about them, and which companies it was shared with.
• Bars companies from retaliating against people who exercise their rights under California’s consumer privacy law by raising prices or subjecting them to bad service. Gives Californians the right to hold companies accountable for privacy violations by suing the companies in court.

“When it comes to control of their personal information, Californians are at the mercy of companies who enrich themselves at the expense of our privacy,” said Lee Tien, senior staff attorney at EFF. “Privacy For All improves that imbalance of power and gives consumers the opportunity to block companies from secretly sharing and using their personal information.”

 For more on Privacy For All:
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2019/02/its-time-california-guarantee-privacy-all

For more on CCPA:
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2018/12/california-lawmakers-defend-and-strengthen-california-consumer-privacy-act

For more on data privacy:
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2018/12/data-privacy-scandals-and-public-policy-picking-speed-2018-year-review