California ballot proposal would tighten data privacy rules

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – A San Francisco developer who pressured California lawmakers into enacting the nation’s most sweeping data privacy act is pushing a new ballot measure to expand the law.

On Wednesday, Alastair Mactaggart plans to unveil a proposed November 2020 ballot measure. It would require technology and internet firms to get permission before collecting personal data on users under the age of 16.

It also would create a state agency to enforce privacy protections included in a state law that was passed last year and takes effect next January.

That law requires companies to tell consumers, on request, what kind of data they’ve collected. Consumers also can ask firms to delete their information or refrain from selling it.

Tech trade organizations generally opposed the 2018 act.