ETA Signs Joint Trade Letter Opposing California Senate Bill 1121

The California Chamber of Commerce and the coalition of business and technology organizations listed above respectfully OPPOSE SB 1121 (Dodd), as amended April 26, 2018 as a JOB KILLER.

The stated goal of SB 1121 is to help prevent data breaches exposing the personal information of California residents. The reality is that SB 1121 would drastically expand the civil liability of companies providing goods and services in California without any corresponding benefit to California consumers. The only beneficiaries of SB 1121 would be consumer class action attorneys – and they stand to benefit greatly if this bill is adopted.

SB 1121 vastly expands the scope of who can sue companies for data breaches in California. Under current law, a customer who has been injured by a data breach (due to a violation of Civil Code §1798.81.5 or §1798.82) already has a remedy under California’s Unfair Competition Law (UCL). Yet, SB 1121 would create a new, private right of action for consumer data breaches alleged to violate the above-listed Civil Code sections – a private right of action that does not require any showing of injury. SB 1121 goes even further. If adopted, a consumer would not even have to show that their data had been breached, let alone show an injury from that breach. SB 1121 would allow “[a]ny consumer whose personal information has been or is reasonably believed to have been breached” to bring a lawsuit.

Read the full letter here.