WWW.LAWYER-MONTHLY.COM | MAR 2022 14 Are the rights guaranteed by the federal privacy laws expanded upon in any significant way at the state level? California is moving to the forefront to ensure that privacy protection endures in a place that spawned much of those technological advances. On September 23, 2018, California signed into law the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018. The enactment permits enforcement by the Attorney General and an individual’s private right of action in connection with certain unauthorised access and exfiltration, theft or disclosure of consumer’s nonencrypted or nonredacted personal information. Found at Section 1798.100 of the California Civil Code (C.C.), a business that collects consumers’ personal information shall “inform consumers as to the categories of personal information to be collected and the purposes” for its collection. The consumer has the right to request that business to delete any personal information about the consumer which it has collected. C.C. § 1798.105. But the business retains certain rights not to delete even at the request of the consumer if it fulfills a business transaction, detects security incidents, debugs and repairs its errors, protects the free speech of another customer, complies with the California Electronic Communication Privacy Act or complies with another legal obligation. What newprivacy issues have come to the forewith themass collection of data and other practices by contemporary tech companies? With the European Union’s passage of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the United States is getting Pamphlet for the measure in 1972, as noted by the California Supreme Court in its decision in White v. Davis, 13 Cal.3d 757, 774, stated: “The right of privacy is the right to be left alone. It is a fundamental and compelling interest. It protects our homes, our families, our thoughts, our emotions, our expressions, our personalities, our freedom of communion and our freedom to associate with the people we choose.” The right of privacy under California law, in many respects, is broader than its federal constitutional counterpart when it protects individuals from the invasion of their privacy not only by state actors but also by private parties. See Leonel v. Am. Airlines, Inc., 400 F.3d 702, 711 (9th Cir. 2005). The California Constitution has express language protecting privacy against intrusion. That privacy under the roof of California is more proactive and protectionary. In Hill, the California Supreme Court noted four distinct types of acts that can give rise to a claim of invasion of privacy: (1) intrusion into private matters; (2) public disclosure of private facts; (3) publicity placing a person in a false light; and (4) misappropriation of a person’s name or likeness. Inwhat ways have these privacy laws become dated by the emergence of the internet andmodern tech giants? Privacy as a constitutional protection has remained broad to secure those inalienable rights as time, mores, and technology evolve. To address the changing climate, Congress and, indeed, state legislatures have stepped into providing further support to that protection. At the federal level, certain laws have been enacted to specify those protections through the Federal Trade Commission Act (1914), Electronic Communication Privacy Act (1986), Computer Fraud & Abuse Act (1986), Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (1998), Financial Services Modernization Act (1999), and the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (2003). falls within one or more enumerated exceptions to the Act. (§ 552a(b)). Those exceptions set forth at (b)(1) to b(12) include in part: officers and employees of the agency which maintains the records (1), another agency within the control of the United States for a civil or criminal law enforcement activity (7), a person showing a compelling circumstance affecting the health or safety of an individual (8), either House of Congress or subcommittee (9), pursuant to court order (11), or to a consumer reporting agency (12). The listed exceptions permit disclosure to governmental agencies in particular situations. In November 1972, California amended its constitution to include among the inalienable rights protected by Article I, Section 1, a right of privacy. The Ballot Privacy as a constitutional protection has remained broad to secure those inalienable rights as time, mores, and technology evolve.
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