Tech companies want more of your data.

We all know that tech companies and on-line services are collecting our data. In an e-mail to a friend you mention an upcoming vacation and suddenly every site you visit has ads for airlines. You order a product from an on-line vendor, and all of a sudden you see a barrage of ads for the same product from a different company. When I talk about this issue with people I generally get one of two reactions. The response is usually either…

“They already have all my data, so there’s no point in worrying about it.”

…or the person says…

“I haven’t done anything wrong, so I have nothing to hide.”

In both cases, the response shows that the person doesn’t know the real extent of the data being collected or the real risks involved. You may be the most law-abiding citizen in the world and scrupulously honest in all your business dealings, but if a company you do business with is subject to a data breach, it could expose all sorts of sensitive data, including passwords, credit card numbers, bank account info and even Social Security numbers. Just this month a trove of data containing 24 billion records was exposed. Also, you’re probably not even aware of the extent of the data that you’re sharing through on-line services and electronic communications. Have you suffered serious health issues? Do you discuss politics on-line? Do you interact with your church, synagogue or mosque on-line? How would you feel if a prospective employer had access to this information? How would you feel if an extremist group could view your data in these areas?

And now the California Legislature is moving toward removing one of the few remaining privacy protections we have. Current California law prohibits wiretapping, eavesdropping on, or recording confidential communications. But SB 690 would grant an exemption for any “commercial business purpose.” Just think about that for a moment. Like I said at the beginning of this post, you know Google scans your e-mails and uses the info to place ads. You know that web sites will grab your mobile ID to send you special offers. But allowing companies to intercept all of our electronic communications for any “commercial business purpose” opens up a whole world of disturbing possibilities. Have you talked to your therapist about bouts of depression? A pharmaceutical company could listen in with the goal of selling you drugs. Did you send an e-mail to your boss outlining a great idea for a new product? A rival company could read that e-mail and race to patent that product before you do. Is your teen sending texts to a friend about their fears and anxieties? A tech start-up could offer to set them up with a companion chatbot that would encourage them to share their deepest secrets and promise to be their best friend forever. For a small monthly sum.

All of this would be completely legal, because all of it falls into the category of a “commercial business purpose”.

Backers of SB 690 say the goal is to stop a spate of predatory lawsuits that have targeted on-line businesses that collect user data. This is certainly a concern, but this bill is not the right fix. It would be fairly easy to write a bill that allows businesses to collect certain categories of data from people who visit their web sites. As currently written, SB 690 erases privacy protections for ALL electronic communication. Your phone calls, e-mails, chats and texts would all be fair game. A company could secretly monitor your communications and use the info they gather for any “commercial business purpose”. Supporters also say that Californians don’t have to worry because they’re still covered by the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). This is completely false. Under the CCPA, you have to do the work of monitoring personal information held by data brokers and you have to make a request for them to delete data. The CCPA does not protect your on-line communications.

It’s not surprising that business groups are lining up to support SB 690. What’s interesting is that, at first glance, the analysis done last year for the State Senate seems to include very few tech companies in the list of supporters. This is surprising because the biggest beneficiaries would be the Big Tech firms. Companies like Amazon, Google and Meta already have millions of customers who use their services regularly, if not every day. Technically, California law currently prevents them from reading, monitoring, collecting your communications with family, friends, doctors, religious counselors, business associates and others. But if SB 690 is approved, they can read anything you write, listen in on any conversation, and monitor any video conference you participate in. As long as they claim it’s for a “commercial business purpose”, all of those things are fair game.

But if you look closely, you’ll see two entities included on the list of supporters: TechNet and Silicon Valley Leadership Group. The first is a national organization that claims to “educate” government leaders about the tech industry at the federal and state levels. The second is a business association that says it represents the “innovation economy”. And guess what. Not only do Amazon, Google and Meta belong to both organizations, but so do Airbnb, Apple, Cisco and Tesla. Beyond that, each organization lists many more tech companies among their members.

So yes, the Big Tech companies are solidly behind SB 690, even though they seem to be shy about directly adding their company names to the list of supporters. Why wouldn’t they want to be up front about showing their support? Could it be they’re afraid that directly connecting their companies to this bill would make it seem like a huge power grab? Could it be they’re worried that putting their names on the list would make it clear that their goal is to erase privacy protections in California? It’s no secret that many leaders of Big Tech firms don’t like any kind of regulation. Tech lobbyists are working hard in Sacramento and Washington to stop legislation that could impact tech companies. And now the tech industry is pouring tens of millions of dollars info Super PACs to influence the upcoming elections. They want to support politicians who will push their deregulation agenda.

SB 690 is completely in line with this push to get rid of regulation. It seems to me that Big Tech wants to take away your right to privacy so they can make even greater profits.

SB 690 has already been approved by the State Senate. It’s now moving through the State Assembly. If you’d like to share your views on this bill, you can find the contact info for your Assembly representative by clicking on the link below.

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