California’s The Nonprofit Alliance is worried that its members may be unfairly targeted by the state’s tough new privacy rules which took effect early this January. The group wants an amendment to the law that specifies an exemption for nonprofits over the matter of data privacy.
Christ Vest explains the issue in this report from AssociationsNow:
The measure (…) requires companies to show users what data is collected on them and what the data will be used for, and to identify any third parties who have been given access to the data. The new law will be enforced by the California attorney general and allows internet users to bring lawsuits if companies fail to adequately protect their data.
The law has sparked concern from trade groups that say they had no opportunity to give input before the bill was passed last summer. They add that California lawmakers didn’t adequately understand how nonprofits use data when they wrote the legislation intending to exclude the community and that the language in the bill limiting their use of consumer data will have a negative impact on nonprofits.
“The nonprofit community supports responsible data use,” said Shannon McCracken, CEO of The Nonprofit Alliance. “We also are keenly aware of the effect that over-reaching legislation can have on our ability to reach beneficiaries, assess need, create awareness, and measure the impact of our work and our donors’ dollars.
