Update: “We’re pleased to see California passed a sweeping privacy law to protect your data and right to choose how it’s used. It’s still not perfect, but we’re not letting perfect be the enemy of good – and Mozilla will work with legislators in California to strengthen it.” – Denelle Dixon, Chief Operating Officer
People in California are in midst of an important discussion around improving privacy protections. This comes in the wake of Cambridge Analytica and the European GDPR going into effect – but it’s a discussion that has been a long time in the making. We are excited to see the potential for progress.
Californians are considering two competing approaches; a narrow ballot initiative on privacy and a broader privacy bill, the California Consumer Privacy Act or CalCPA, currently moving quickly through the legislature. Today, Mozilla is weighing in to endorse the broader bill. While we are also supportive of the ballot initiative, we believe the bill is the better option for Californians.
The ballot initiative would allow anyone to know what kinds of data a company collects and would require an opt-out for data selling to third parties. These are important first steps. The bill takes bigger steps forward, giving consumers rights more in line with the GDPR, like access to your data and correction or deletion of your data.
The bill is moving through the legislature quickly and still has flaws. Mozilla has suggested substantive changes that could clarify its requirements and better protect Californians’ privacy. But overall the bill is a very positive move that offers huge potential to advance the privacy conversation in the United States, as other states look to these concepts and even apply them at the national level.
Mozilla stands with Californians – and our community globally – to support positive progress in protecting user privacy. We look forward to working with policymakers to ensure that the draft puts users first.