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--:-- Sean Rameswaram: Welcome to Today Explained. I'm Sean Rameswaram.
--:-- Noel King: And I'm Noel King. Today, we're talking about data privacy, and how a new California law might change the way tech companies handle your online information.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: Casey Newton, a reporter from The Verge, says this law could be a turning point for federal legislators to create a national set of rules for data privacy.
--:-- Casey Newton: That's right. The California Consumer Privacy Act is a big deal, and it's going to take effect in 2020. It gives consumers the right to know what information companies are collecting about them, why they're collecting that data, and who they're sharing it with.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: And it also gives consumers the right to tell companies to delete their information and not sell or share it.
--:-- Casey Newton: Exactly. And businesses must give consumers the same quality of service they were getting when they were giving them their data.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: So how does this compare to what's on the books nationally?
--:-- Casey Newton: In America, we don't really have a comprehensive federal law around data privacy. Instead, we tend to regulate it by sector. So you might have heard of HIPAA, which controls the way that health data can be shared. There's FERPA, which applies to school health records. And then there's COPPA, which regulates data privacy for kids under the age of 13.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: And the Federal Trade Commission has tried to enforce data privacy standards, but tech companies have pushed back on that.
--:-- Casey Newton: That's right. They've told the FTC that they don't have the jurisdiction to do that.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: So, how did tech companies in Silicon Valley react to the law California passed?
--:-- Casey Newton: They reacted in two ways. The first was to say that they supported the law very strongly. And then the second way was by trying to undermine it and make sure that it never takes effect.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: By lobbying for a national bill that will supersede the California legislation.
--:-- Casey Newton: Exactly. And privacy advocates are really, really worried that a national law, if and when it comes to pass, is going to be much weaker than the one that was passed here.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: Why appear to support it and then try to get a national law passed?
--:-- Casey Newton: I think it's because lobbyists know that there's probably more attention being paid to data privacy right now than at any time in history.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: That's right. And in Europe, we have a regulatory framework called the General Data Regulation Protections.
--:-- Casey Newton: We need a similar internet bill of rights here in the United States. We need to put some digital rules of the road into law when it comes to people's privacy.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: And what kind of laws might come out of a federal effort here?
--:-- Casey Newton: There was a listening session in California this month where people on both sides of this issue talked about that exact thing. And lobbyists for the tech companies said that they're not trying to weaken the law, but that there are some inconsistencies in it.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: Such as the fact that the law says both that individuals can request data, but also households can request data.
--:-- Casey Newton: Exactly. And so they raised the possibility that you might be able to request all of the data that Facebook has about your roommate, which was presumably not the intent of the law.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: And, of course, it would also not be at all surprising if the national law didn't have quite the teeth that the California one does.
--:-- Casey Newton: That's right.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: Should it be reassuring that California was able to do this, considering how powerful and wealthy these companies are?
--:-- Casey Newton: I think so, although I would also note that tech companies are really bad at getting what they want.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: That's right. They've been pushing for immigration reform for years, and they've gotten nowhere.
--:-- Casey Newton: And they've been pushing for a law that would regulate online speech, and that's also been a disaster.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: So, do you think something could happen this year?
--:-- Casey Newton: I think you're going to see a lot of pressure on them to figure out some kind of national law.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: And what do you think the chances are of something actually getting passed?
--:-- Casey Newton: Not good.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: Not good.
--:-- Casey Newton: But you never know.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: That's right. Well, we're going to take a break and come back to this topic after the break.
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--:-- Sean Rameswaram: Welcome back to Today Explained. We're talking about data privacy, and how a new California law might change the way tech companies handle your online information.
--:-- Kara Swisher: Hi, I'm Kara Swisher.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: Kara is a reporter from Recode, and she's written extensively about data privacy.
--:-- Kara Swisher: Thanks for having me on the show.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: So, Kara, what do you think is the biggest issue with data privacy right now?
--:-- Kara Swisher: I think the biggest issue is that people don't understand what's happening with their data. They don't know what companies are collecting, why they're collecting it, and who they're sharing it with.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: And that's exactly what the California law tries to address.
--:-- Kara Swisher: That's right. It gives consumers the right to know what information companies are collecting about them, why they're collecting that data, and who they're sharing it with.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: And it also gives consumers the right to tell companies to delete their information and not sell or share it.
--:-- Kara Swisher: Exactly. And businesses must give consumers the same quality of service they were getting when they were giving them their data.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: So, how does this compare to what's on the books nationally?
--:-- Kara Swisher: In America, we don't really have a comprehensive federal law around data privacy. Instead, we tend to regulate it by sector.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: And the Federal Trade Commission has tried to enforce data privacy standards, but tech companies have pushed back on that.
--:-- Kara Swisher: That's right. They've told the FTC that they don't have the jurisdiction to do that.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: So, what do you think is the solution to this problem?
--:-- Kara Swisher: I think the solution is to create a national law that gives consumers the right to control their data. When you give someone data, it's just for them and it stops there. They can't use it for other things.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: And that's exactly what the California law tries to do.
--:-- Kara Swisher: That's right. It gives consumers the right to know what information companies are collecting about them, why they're collecting that data, and who they're sharing it with.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: And it also gives consumers the right to tell companies to delete their information and not sell or share it.
--:-- Kara Swisher: Exactly.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: So, what do you think the chances are of something actually getting passed?
--:-- Kara Swisher: Not good.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: Not good.
--:-- Kara Swisher: But you never know.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: That's right. Well, we're going to wrap up today's show with a question from a listener.
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--:-- Sean Rameswaram: Thanks for listening to Today Explained. If you want to support the show, you can subscribe to our podcast on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
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--:-- Sean Rameswaram: And if you want to learn more about Aspiration, the bank we mentioned earlier, you can download the Aspiration app now to open an account.
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