LOS ANGELES, Dec. 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Google's
revelation today that its social network Google+ suffered a second
major security lapse in less than a year makes clear the Internet
giant cannot be trusted to police its own platforms and underscores
the need for strong laws like the California Consumer Privacy Act,
Consumer Watchdog said today.
If the law were in effect, the California Consumer Privacy Act
would hold Google responsible and the company would face fines if
its users' data was taken because it was mishandled by
Google. Victims would also be able to sue Google under the
law, which goes into effect in 2020.
"Google's latest failure to adequately protect users'
information shows the company doesn't care about consumer privacy
and cannot be trusted to protect our data," said John M. Simpson, Consumer Watchdog's Privacy and
Technology Project Director. "We need tough laws, including the
right for consumers to take an internet company to court when they
put our data at risk. The California Consumer Privacy Act created
that protection, and lawmakers should protect it from attacks by
companies like Google who want federal laws to overturn it."
Businesses are already working to weaken the California law. California Legislators must
resist those efforts, Consumer Watchdog said. At the federal level,
Congress should not bow to pressure by business and tech companies
to enact a weak national law to preempt stronger state protections,
Consumer Watchdog said.
The California Consumer Protection Act is the strongest privacy
law in the nation. It would, for instance, allow a
private right of action – though with some limits -- in data breach
cases. No such right currently exists. The law
ensures:
- The right of Californians to know what personal information is
being collected about them.
- The right of Californians to know whether their personal
information is sold or disclosed and to whom.
- The right of Californians to say no to the sale of personal
information.
- The right of Californians to access their personal
information.
- The right of Californians to equal service and price, even if
they exercise their privacy rights.
Currently, the California
attorney general is drafting regulations to implement the
California Consumer Privacy Act.
Google discovered a security bug in Google+ in March that
affected 500,000 users, but kept the failure secret until
October. The latest security failure occurred in November and
could affect 52 million users, Google said.
Google announced plans to shut Google+ down next August because
of the first incident. The company now says it will close the
service in April, five months before it had originally planned.
Visit our website at www.consumerwatchdog.org
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SOURCE Consumer Watchdog