What does the 1968 California Public Records Act have to do with privacy? A common acronym.
I’ve been monitoring privacy (biometric and otherwise) for about a decade now, and in that spirit I recently wrote a post entitled “Get the Acronyms Right.” (Why that title? Stay tuned.) the post addressed the very similar privacy acronyms in California, including CPRA.
“Then came the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA), effective January 2023, expanding those rights…”
In fact, the acronyms were so similar that the CPPA (established by the CPRA, which followed the CCPA) adopted the cool trendy name CalPrivacy. Since people who had privacy concerns should go to the agency.
What could go wrong?
davidsicairos enters the chat
Anyway, I shared my acronym-rich post on Bluesky, where the Bluesky user davidsicairos saw it and responded.
“Add one more: there are TWO CPRAs sharing an acronym. The 1968 Public Records Act opens government books — every district, city, and county agency answers on a 10-day clock. The 2020 Privacy Rights Act covers consumer data. Half the arguments online are about the wrong one.”
This covers the opposite of privacy. This prevents city council members keeping their records secret. Such as memos supporting a project for a developer that gave them a bunch of cash. It doesn’t prevent the cash, but just puts the memos on record.
But even in 1968, people recognized that some things should remain private and not public. Social Security Numbers. Identities of confidential informants. Discussions under attorney-client privilege.
Is the California Public Records Act effective? I asked Bredebot to answer that question.
“So, is the 1968 CPRA effective? Yes, as a fundamental baseline for open government. But without stronger enforcement mechanisms and tighter deadlines, it often acts more like a slow speed bump than a clear window.”
Then he talked about wildebeests. Just because.
A funny story about a video
About that old blog post title “Get the Acronyms Right.” As a few of you know, it originated with the title of a Depeche Mode song…and video.
However, the video for this song was filmed so early in the band’s career that the director didn’t even know which band member sang the song. Even though this was a matter of public record. A true identity crisis.
Incidentally, my post “Get the Balance Right” is about The Who.
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