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State Senator Discusses Work on Data Ahead of Privacy Act Arrival

Sen. Scott Wiener said "it's time" to tighten up last year's California Consumer Privacy Act ahead of its Jan. 1, 2020, effective date, and he explained his support of a Republican colleague's bill that would establish a 72-hour data breach notification by saying a "firm timeline" is needed.

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State Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, authored a big piece of tech legislation last year in SB 822, which gave California some of the nation’s strongest net neutrality protections — only to see implementation of the law stayed while a Washington, D.C., Circuit Court resolved questions from the state’s challenge of the federal net neutrality repeal.

“The stay on SB 822 represents a pause in our litigation to guarantee we can argue the defense of California’s net neutrality on behalf of our 40 million people,” the state attorney general’s press office told Techwire in a statement via email.

This legislative session, Wiener said he’s focusing more on housing, criminal justice reform and LGBT issues. But the senator continues to be involved in tech legislation, he told Techwire — making a key trip across the aisle recently for exactly that purpose. Among the takeaways:

• Wiener joined Rancho Mirage Republican Chad Mayes in supporting AB 1035, which Mayes authored and introduced Feb. 21. Wiener signed on as co-author of the legislation, which would give companies that lose consumer data in a breach 72 hours to notify them. Wiener pointed out that California has experienced “serious data breaches” and said the law “is not where it needs to be.”

“It has very vague obligations to eventually notify people and it can take a long time. When consumer data has been breached, people deserve to know quickly. And so, we need to put a firm timeline on those notifications,” Wiener said. He called Mayes “a very smart, reasonable legislator” with whom he enjoys working.

• Wiener said he’s only signed on to AB 1035 so far, calling the atmosphere “a little chaotic,” with as many as 20 “privacy-related, data-related” bills pending in the Legislature.

• Asked whether he thought it likely more of his colleagues would reach across the aisle to support the “Your Data, Your Way” package of bills introduced by Republicans, which includes AB 1035 — or that Republicans would partner with Democrats to support their tech legislation — Wiener said it’s a positive that Republicans would want to join the conversation.

“There are many issues that simply aren’t partisan, and so I always look for opportunities to work, of course, with other Democrats but also with Republicans,” he said.

• Legislators knew last year’s California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) would need cleanup when they passed it, including requirements about when employers should delete employee data, Wiener said. He acknowledged that lawmakers wanted to be mindful of effects before beginning to tighten regulations  hence the CCPA’s Jan. 1, 2020, effective date. But he said: “We know what the issues are around consumer privacy and the Internet and around data breaches and so, it’s time.”

• Technology has “always been a priority” for new Gov. Gavin Newsom, Wiener said, adding: “I think we’re going to see some good movement under this administration.”

Theo Douglas is Assistant Managing Editor of Industry Insider — California.