The FISMA Focus IPD

From: Politico

By MICHELLE QUINN

With the federal government and technology policy shut down in Washington, California is steaming ahead with a series of online privacy laws that will have broad implications for Internet companies and consumers.

In recent weeks, Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown has signed a litany of privacy-related legislation, including measures to create an “eraser button” for teens, outlaw online “revenge porn” and make Internet companies explain how they respond to consumer Do Not Track requests.

The burst of activity is another sign that the Golden State — home to Google, Facebook and many of the world’s largest tech companies — is setting the agenda for Internet regulation at a time when the White House and Congress are moving at a much more glacial pace.

“We are all watching what is going on in Washington, D.C., with great concern that our colleagues are not able to get very much done,” said California Senate Majority Leader Ellen Corbett, a Democrat. “Elected officials in California have embraced the issue of online privacy as an important matter to their constituents.”

California’s legislative moves contrast with Washington, where much privacy legislation has stalled. An online Do Not Track bill from Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) has failed to advance this year. Previous measures, including a 2011 online privacy bill from then-Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), have also stalled.

The state’s efforts have delighted privacy activists frustrated with the lack of federal action. As home to more than 10 percent of the nation’s population and the headquarters of major companies, the state has often been able to drive the national debate on environmental policy and other issues from Sacramento.

“Once again California is taking the lead, which is not surprising when you consider how dysfunctional Congress has become,” said John Simpson, director of Consumer Watchdog’s Privacy Project.

California’s new “eraser button” law gives teens the right to delete social-media posts and prohibits certain types of advertising from targeting them. The “revenge porn” measure makes it a misdemeanor for people to post indecent photos or videos of ex-lovers online. Another law requires websites to detail how they respond to Do Not Track signals sent from users’ browsers.

Brown also signed two data-breach laws. One from Corbett requires website operators to notify consumers of a security breach that involves information like user names and passwords. Another requires local government agencies to notify residents of personal data breaches.

Not everyone wants to see California become the nation’s laboratory for online privacy laws. Congress, some say, is better suited to grapple with the issues, and federal lawmakers’ go-slow approach reflects widespread concern that regulating the Internet could harm the nation’s most innovative companies.

“California seems like it is willing to declare the Internet its own private fiefdom and rule it with its own privacy fist,” said Adam Thierer, a senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University.

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