Sacramento, California — California Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed A.B. 3048, a bill requiring internet browsers and mobile operating systems to offer consumers the ability to exercise their privacy preferences through an online tool called an “opt-out preference signal”.
“It’s disappointing that this marks the end of the road for this landmark privacy legislation during this session,” said Matt Schwartz, policy analyst at Consumer Reports. “Ultimately, industry worked overtime to squash this bill, as it empowered Californians to better protect their privacy, undermining the commercial surveillance business model of these tech companies. We strongly disagree with the idea expressed in the Governor’s veto statement that it should be left to operating systems to provide privacy choices for consumers. They’ve shown time and again they won’t meaningfully do so until forced.
At the same time, we thank the California legislature, which has been a true champion of data rights, pioneering historic legislation like the California Consumer Privacy Act and the Delete Act. We look forward to working with California policymakers to strengthen privacy standards in the state in the next legislative session.”
CR has long been an advocate for the data rights of consumers. The nonprofit, independent organization was a strong supporter of the California Consumer Privacy Act and the state’s Delete Act.
CR is a founding organization of the Global Privacy Control, a browser-level privacy signal designed to allow Internet users to notify businesses of their preference to not have their data be sold or shared, or used for cross-context behavioral advertising. GPC has been recognized by privacy regulators in California and Colorado as a legally-binding opt-out signal under those states’ comprehensive privacy laws. CR is also working on technical solutions to further empower consumers to take control of their data, including through our app called Permission Slip.
Contact: Cyrus Rassool, cyrus.rassool@consumer.org