As we reported earlier this week, California legislature Democrats reached a tentative agreement with a group of consumer privacy activists spearheading a ballot initiative for heightened consumer privacy protections, in which the activists would withdraw the existing ballot initiative in exchange for the California legislature passing, and Governor Jerry Brown signing into law, a similar piece of legislation, with some concessions, by June 28th, the final deadline to withdraw ballot initiatives.
And as agreed upon, yesterday, hours before the deadline to withdraw ballot initiatives, the California legislature passed, and Governor Jerry Brown signed into law the groundbreaking California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (AB 375).
Consumer Privacy activists were pleased with the swift passage of the new law, “This is a milestone moment for privacy law in the United States,” Marc Rotenberg, Executive Director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center said in a statement. “The California Privacy Act sends a powerful message that people care about privacy and that lawmakers will act.”
Opponents, including the Internet Association, a lobbying group representing major technology companies, were less than pleased, “It is critical going forward that policymakers work to correct the inevitable, negative policy and compliance ramifications this last-minute deal will create for California’s consumers and businesses alike,” the group said in a statement.
A comprehensive update detailing key aspects of the new California law is available here.