Proposition 24, known as the California Privacy Rights and Enforcement Act of 2020, will create the California Privacy Protection Agency to implement and enforce additional privacy laws on businesses and impose fines.

The ballot measure would expand the provisions of the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (CCPA).

The new privacy act will give consumers the power to correct inaccurate personal information, prevent businesses from sharing personal information, and limit businesses’ use of sensitive personal information.

That includes precise geolocation, race, ethnicity, religion, genetic data, private communications, sexual orientation, and specified health information.

Proposition 24 will also prohibit businesses’ retention of personal information for longer than reasonably necessary, and triples maximum penalties for violations concerning consumers under age 16.

Under the ballot initiative, businesses will be prohibited from sharing a consumer’s personal information upon the consumer’s request, must provide consumers with an opt-out option for having their sensitive personal information, and required to request permission first before collecting data of consumers younger than 16.

The creation of the new agency will cost the state $10 million annually. But the state is only expected to pay $2 million for increased court and Department of Justice enforcement workload.

These costs could be paid from the penalties of violations of the new consumer privacy laws.

Exclusions from the reaches of Proposition 24 are businesses holding consumer credit score information, emergency contact information, job application information, vehicle ownership between consumers and manufacturers, and student academic scores with educational agencies.

A handful of major organizations are neutral on the proposition, such as the Democratic Party of California.

Californians for Consumer Privacy are running the “Yes on 24” campaign. Other supporters in favor of the ballot initiative include former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang and representative Ro Khanna, D-Fremont.

Pulitzer prize-winning Los Angeles Times columnist Michael Hiltzik writes about his support, “Make no mistake: If Proposition 24 is defeated, the beneficiaries would be businesses that want to exploit your privacy without your consent.”

The California Consumer and Privacy Advocates Against Prop 24 are running the opposition campaign along with the Republican and Libertarian parties of California and the ACLU of California.

President of the Consumer Federation of California Richard Holober said of his opposition: “No one reads the thousands of words of legal fine print that you have to “Accept” before you can use an app or visit a website. The fine print is where you sacrifice your privacy. The same is true of Proposition 24.”