Data privacy against innovation or against discrimination?: The case of the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA)

Abstract

Conducting a case study on the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), this paper analyzes divergent frames of privacy argued by different stakeholders. While the United States has allowed corporate self-regulation of consumer privacy, California became the first state to introduce its own privacy law in June 2018. In early 2019, California held public forums on CCPA, which then became a battleground for various stakeholders to discuss data privacy regulations. Examining 105 public comments made by 99 speakers in 7 CCPA public forums, this study identified that corporate representatives and consumer advocates differed in seven major areas: (1) the purpose of CCPA, (2) definitions of personal information and consumer, (3) operationalization of opt-out, (4) non-discrimination rules, (5) economic ramifications, (6) consumer literacy, and (7) comparison with other privacy frameworks. The findings suggest that corporate speakers follow the frame of privacy as a commodity, while consumer speakers seek the frame of privacy as a right.