SF Chronicle Op-Ed: “Prop. 24 is the Wrong Policy Approach, at the Wrong Time, via the Wrong Process”
[I published this op-ed in the San Francisco Chronicle yesterday] Most voters initially are inclined to support Prop. 24, the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA). Everyone wants more privacy. But that initial support dissolves after careful scrutiny. Prop. 24 does…
Facebook Doesn’t Have a Duty to Prevent a Murder–Godwin v. Facebook
In 2017, Steve Stephens murdered Robert Godwin Sr. On the day of the murder, Stephens made the following post to Facebook: FB my life for the pass year has really been fuck up!!! lost everything ever had due to gambling…
Over 50 Privacy Professionals & Experts Oppose Prop. 24
The length and complexity of Proposition 24, the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA), makes it challenging for ordinary citizens to evaluate the proposal. Thus, it’s helpful to hear how members of the privacy community feel about it. They are in…
What Does the Legislature Have to Show for Its CCPA Amendments in 2020? Not Much (Guest Blog Post)
by guest blogger Tanya Forsheit Professor Goldman asked me to share my two cents on the short extensions of time to the employee and business to business exemptions to the California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”) that Governor Newsom signed on…
WeChat Executive Order Enjoined Because (Of Course) It’s Unconstitutional–WeChat Users v. Trump
A federal district court preliminarily enjoined Executive Order 13943 seeking to kick WeChat out of the United States. This is a good ruling blocking an obviously unconstitutional executive order, but the fact the federal government issued and aggressively defended yet…
Facial Recognition Database Vendor May Not Qualify for Section 230–Vermont v. Clearview
As you recall, Clearview AI is a facial recognition database vendor. Some law enforcement departments have adopted its service, but we aren’t sure how many. We also aren’t sure about its facial recognition accuracy (or, for that matter, how much…
Californians: VOTE NO ON PROP. 24, The California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA)
On November 3, Californians will vote on Prop. 24, the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA). Like most other ballot propositions, it’s designed to bypass the legislative process. Californians are usually inclined to vote “no” on those propositions, and that’s the…
Trump’s Twitter Tantrums Are Affecting How Judges Evaluate Online Discourse–US v. Cook
The state unsuccessfully prosecuted Cook for drug offenses. “Not content to quietly accept his victory, Cook made disparaging remarks on the internet about various players in his Calhoun County prosecution.” The government prosecuted him again, this time for the federal…
California’s Effort to Suppress the Publication of Age Information Violates the Constitution–IMDb v. Becerra
IMDb has a subscription service, where subscribers can remove their age from their personal profiles (this feature wasn’t at issue in this case), and a free service, where IMDb displays an actor’s age (compiled from unspecified sources) even if the…
A Review of the “Final” CCPA Regulations from the CA Attorney General
On June 2, the California Attorney General’s office (the DOJ) released hundreds of pages of new material about its CCPA regulations, including 11,000+ words of its “final” regulations and a 59 page “final statement of reasons” purportedly explaining the DOJ’s…