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The governor vetoed the law, depriving users of the ability to control their data.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom has rejected a bill that would require web browsers and mobile operating systems to make it easier for users to prevent their data from being used and shared between sites. The bill obliges developers to implement a special tool for online protection called the Opt-Out Preference Signal (OOPS).
In a letter to the California State Assembly, Newsom expressed concern that the introduction of such obligations for developers of operating systems is still premature. He noted that none of the major mobile operating systems currently include a feature for OOPS in their settings. Newsom stressed that such issues are better dealt with directly by developers, rather than regulators, in order to maintain the convenience of using mobile devices. Despite this, most browsers already offer anti-tracking features or provide the ability to install plugins to protect privacy, the governor noted.
If passed, the bill would strengthen California's already tough privacy rules, especially for businesses and data brokers. The document was one of the main initiatives of the California Privacy Rights Agency and affected the interests of major technology companies such as Google, Microsoft and Apple, which actively lobbied against the passage of the bill.
The essence of the bill was to provide users with the opportunity to take advantage of a universal non-tracking signal, which would be legally binding for all companies operating on the platform. However, as experts noted, users rarely encounter such signals on major platforms and are forced to install third-party browser extensions to send such requests. This complicates the process and makes it inaccessible to a wide audience.
Experts believe that despite the potential impact of the law on the market, Newsom's decision did not come as a surprise. If the law came into force, the number of users who refused to collect data would increase significantly, which could negatively affect the business models of companies based on user tracking.
That is why giants like Google have applied significant efforts to prevent the passage of the bill by arguing, that the corporation's ability to track users is more important than protection consumer privacy.
Source
California Gov. Gavin Newsom has rejected a bill that would require web browsers and mobile operating systems to make it easier for users to prevent their data from being used and shared between sites. The bill obliges developers to implement a special tool for online protection called the Opt-Out Preference Signal (OOPS).
In a letter to the California State Assembly, Newsom expressed concern that the introduction of such obligations for developers of operating systems is still premature. He noted that none of the major mobile operating systems currently include a feature for OOPS in their settings. Newsom stressed that such issues are better dealt with directly by developers, rather than regulators, in order to maintain the convenience of using mobile devices. Despite this, most browsers already offer anti-tracking features or provide the ability to install plugins to protect privacy, the governor noted.
If passed, the bill would strengthen California's already tough privacy rules, especially for businesses and data brokers. The document was one of the main initiatives of the California Privacy Rights Agency and affected the interests of major technology companies such as Google, Microsoft and Apple, which actively lobbied against the passage of the bill.
The essence of the bill was to provide users with the opportunity to take advantage of a universal non-tracking signal, which would be legally binding for all companies operating on the platform. However, as experts noted, users rarely encounter such signals on major platforms and are forced to install third-party browser extensions to send such requests. This complicates the process and makes it inaccessible to a wide audience.
Experts believe that despite the potential impact of the law on the market, Newsom's decision did not come as a surprise. If the law came into force, the number of users who refused to collect data would increase significantly, which could negatively affect the business models of companies based on user tracking.
That is why giants like Google have applied significant efforts to prevent the passage of the bill by arguing, that the corporation's ability to track users is more important than protection consumer privacy.
Source
