美国国家公共电台 NPR Do Not Sell My Personal Information: California Eyes Data Privacy Measure

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MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:

California is also taking on the issue of online privacy. An initiative headed for November's ballot¹ would be one of the broadest online privacy regulations in the U.S. and would likely affect standards throughout the country, as NPR's Laura Sydell reports.

LAURA SYDELL, BYLINE²: Alastair Mactaggart is a very successful San Francisco real estate developer, and he recalls the moment that turned him into a privacy advocate. He asked a Google engineer at a cocktail³ party if he should be worried about his privacy.

ALASTAIR MACTAGGART: And he said, oh, if you just knew how much we knew about you, you'd be really worried.

SYDELL: That worried Mactaggart. He is now one of the biggest backers of California's Consumer Privacy Act of 2018. He put his own money on the line - more than $2 million to get the act on the ballot. The ballot measure got hundreds of thousands of signatures. Mactaggart says he and a small group of his neighbors consulted with academics, lawyers and technologists to write a law they hope will curb⁴ privacy abuses.

MACTAGGART: What people are concerned about is misuse⁵ of their data. And so we give the people the right to say stop selling my information.

SYDELL: If the act is approved by voters, businesses will be required to have a clearly visible home page link that lets users opt⁶ out of having their data sold or shared. Mactaggart says the act does not prevent Facebook or Google or your local newspaper from collecting your data and using it to target ads to you. You just have a right to stop companies that share or sell your data. Companies must disclose the categories of information they have on you, like home addresses, employment information, characteristics, like race, gender⁷. The law has the backing of consumer advocacy groups like Consumers Union. Justin Brookman is the director of consumer privacy and technology policy there. He says Europe's new law is stricter.

JUSTIN BROOKMAN: This ballot initiative is actually pretty modest. In some ways, I wish it would go further.

SYDELL: Still, if this act passes, it will be one of the broadest privacy laws in the U.S. because it will affect anyone who goes on the Internet in California. And because it's California, the fifth-largest economy in the world, Brookman thinks many companies will implement⁸ the same standards nationally.

BROOKMAN: Most companies aren't going to try to configure their systems to guess when an IP address is based in California. They'll say, you know what? This isn't that hard to do. We're just going to do it for the entire country.

SYDELL: Opposition⁹ to the initiative by tech companies is fierce. California is the home of Silicon¹⁰ Valley where a lot of the companies are based. Robert Callahan is the vice¹¹ president of state government affairs for the Internet Association. It represents Facebook, Google, Netflix and many other companies.

ROBERT CALLAHAN: And every industry sector¹² who has looked at this initiative considers it a very serious threat to the ability to do business in California.

SYDELL: Callahan says the bill imposes harsh financial penalties on companies that violate it, even if they make a small mistake.

CALLAHAN: Whether or not any harm or damages were received, the companies are strictly¹³ liable in thousands of dollars per violation¹⁴.

SYDELL: Proponents¹⁵ of the California initiative say the act gives judges some discretion¹⁶ on the size of the fines. But Callahan doesn't think a privacy law should be written by advocates like Mactaggart and put on a ballot.

CALLAHAN: Without any sort of process, you know, the proponents came up with this law that he's suggesting should be the law of the land without any sort of public vetting¹⁷ or scrutiny¹⁸. And we think that's irresponsible and dangerous.

SYDELL: Supporters of the act say neither the U.S. Congress nor the California legislature have acted, so they're taking matters into their own hands. The initiative hasn't been officially certified¹⁹ by the state, but given that it has more than enough signatures, it's nearly certain to be in front of the California voters in November. Laura Sydell, NPR News.