EPIC, Coalition Oppose California Effort to Shield Companies from Liability for Surveilling Individuals

EPIC signed onto an Aug. 19 coalition letter with nearly 50 other organizations, including privacy and consumer advocates, immigrant rights groups, labor unions, LGBTQ+ organizations, and more urging California lawmakers to stand strong in protecting the long-held privacy rights of Californians.

The letter urges lawmakers to oppose efforts to strip Californians of the right to hold companies accountable for surveilling them and invading their privacy, which the state gave to residents in 1967 through the passage of the California Invasion of Privacy Act (CIPA).

The bill, S.B. 690, represents a carefully negotiated compromise among stakeholders. In its current form, the bill would amend CIPA to remove the private right of action for pen register tracking. However, there are now efforts to reopen this compromise to deprive Californians of their right to sue companies that violate their privacy through other means as well as through pen register tracking.