Consumer Reports and a coalition of privacy groups, individual advocates, and researchers urged California Governor Gavin Newsom to sign CA A.B. 3048, a bill that recently passed the California legislature that would require browsers and mobile operating systems to include a setting that enables a consumer to send an opt-out preference signal. While California consumers are entitled to send opt-out preference signals that communicate their preference to opt out of targeted advertising and sales of their personal information under CCPA, major browsers like Chrome, Safari, and Edge, as well as the Android and iOS mobile platforms, have suppressed usage of this right by denying native opt-out preference signal functionality.
A.B. 3048 will ensure that consumers have the ability to use their privacy rights by requiring that browser vendors and mobile operating systems include an easy to locate and use setting that enables the consumer to send an opt-out preference signal. This bill’s approach will help reduce opt-out friction and make it easier for California residents to control their data.
To read the full letter, please see the attached PDF.