In the wake of the California State Senate’s passage of S.B. 690, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), TechEquity, Consumer Federation of California, Tech Oversight California, ACLU California Action, Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, and the California Low Income Consumers Coalition issued a joint statement warning that the bill would put the safety and privacy of millions of Californians at serious risk:
“SB 690 gives the green-light to dystopian big tech surveillance practices which will endanger the privacy and safety of all Californians. SB 690 would allow companies to spy on us to get our sensitive personal information, such as our immigration status or what healthcare we’ve received. And once they have our sensitive personal information, SB 690 places no limits on how that business can use or share that information, allowing them to share it with data brokers, immigration officials, or law enforcement officials in states that restrict reproductive or gender-affirming care.
“At a time where agencies of the federal government are actively targeting individuals based on information collected from businesses about their political beliefs, religious affiliations, or health decisions, we cannot risk sharing even more sensitive information with them. The legislature should be doing all it can to protect Californians, not make it easier for the federal government to secretly obtain our sensitive information.”
Update: This post has been updated to reflect additional signers.
Background
