On July 1, the California Assembly Privacy Committee overwhelmingly passed SB 690, a bill that would amend the California Invasion of Privacy Act (CIPA) to provide relief for news publishers targeted by unreasonable lawsuits based on the current text of the law.
The 1967 criminal statute has been weaponized to target small businesses and news publishers with lawsuits and arbitration demands for the use of expected and widely-used online tools. SB 690 would preserve the underlying statute while providing a common-sense correction to protect local news publishers.
The Alliance would like to thank the bill sponsor, Senator Anna Caballero, and Assembly Privacy Committee Chair Rebecca Bauer Kahan and their staffs for the commitment to protecting high-quality journalism in California.
News/Media Alliance member engagement was a key factor in pushing this fix forward on this issue, helping shape the compromise legislation, providing decisive testimony, and engaging with lawmakers. Los Angeles Times’s General Counsel, Jeff Glasser, provided lead testimony on the disproportionate impact of these suits on publishers.
The CA legislature will now go into summer recess and the bill is expected to be heard in the Appropriations Committee in August, where we will continue to deploy our members to pass this critical fix in a timely manner.
The Alliance Privacy Group has advocated on or monitored hundreds of state consumer data and online safety bills this session. To get involved, email membership@newsmediaalliance.org to join the working group.
