ACLU Calls Prop 24 "Fake Privacy," Warns About its "Pay for Privacy" Provision

SACRAMENTO, Calif., Oct. 24, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of California reiterated its opposition to Proposition 24. The statewide ACLU endorsed No on Prop 24 following board approval of opposition to the ballot measure by each of its three California chapters: ACLU of Northern California, ACLU of Southern California and ACLU of San Diego and Imperial Counties.

A post issued by the ACLU of Northern California states that the ballot measure would undermine privacy protections and "increase the burden on people to protect themselves" from big tech companies' abuse of personal information.

In a blog statement released on October 16, 2020, Jake Snow and Chris Conley of the ACLU of Northern California wrote, "Californians shouldn't have to pay for privacy, particularly when the Constitution guarantees privacy as an inalienable right." They state that instead of combatting pay for privacy schemes, Prop 24 "makes it worse with a new exception that allows companies to charge you more if you tell them not to sell your personal information."

The ACLU of Northern California commentary said, "Prop 24 is also full of loopholes that undermine consumer privacy, including a carveout written by the credit-reporting industry, weakened privacy protections for Californians when they travel, and new ways to keep consumers in the dark about what companies are doing with their personal information. For every step forward, there are two steps back. That approach won't advance privacy in California."  The full ACLU of Northern California commentary is available at: https://www.aclunc.org/blog/californians-should-vote-no-prop-24

The ACLU of Southern California wrote that Prop 24 is a "fake privacy law. Instead of increasing protections, it requires people to jump through more hoops and adds anti-privacy loopholes for big business."  The ACLU of Southern California statement is available at: https://www.aclusocal.org/2020ballotguide

Several other privacy and consumer rights advocates join the ACLU in opposition to Prop 24. The Consumer Federation of California, Consumer Action, Public Citizen, California Alliance for Retired Americans, TURN – The Utility Reform Network, Center For Digital Democracy, Consumer Federation of America, Consumer for Automobile Reliability and Safety, and Media Alliance urge Californians to vote no on Prop 24.

The League of Women Voters of California, Color of Change, the California Nurses Association, labor and civil rights leader Dolores Huerta, and numerous other advocates for consumers, labor, immigrants, communities of color and small business oppose Prop 24, as do 25 newspapers editorials.

Learn more about how Prop 24 undermines consumer privacy rights and harms small business at: prop24no.org

SOURCE Californians for Real Privacy - No on Proposition 24