Calif. Privacy Board Loses Member Amid Closely Watched Rulemaking on Automated Decisions
Privacy advocate Vinhcent Le learned at the end of last week he was no longer a board member of the California Privacy Protection Agency, he told us Monday. A strong voice for the consumer and one of the CPPA board’s founding members, Le's exit is concerning, the Electronic Frontier Foundation said.
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The CPPA confirmed Le's situation Monday. The California Assembly's speaker, now Robert Rivas (D), assigns the seat Le formerly occupied on the five-member panel. The other seats are assigned by the Senate leader, the attorney general and the governor, who gets two picks, including the chair. With no term limits, board members may be swapped out at any time. Former Speaker Anthony Rendon (D) appointed Le, who is also vice president of AI policy for TechEquity, a consumer advocacy group.
“It was a call from the Speaker's office just to really thank me for my service and let me know that they wanted to move in a different direction,” Le told us. “I don’t really know what that other direction is.” Le hopes Rivas will choose another consumer advocate who can “represent … the privacy interests of all Californians and folks that aren’t well-heeled tech companies.”
Le noted that he had a stronger relationship with the previous speaker. “It may be a little bit of a surprise in terms of the timing, but I essentially knew that once the new speaker [came] in … this was a definite possibility.” Rivas didn’t comment.
Le departs in the midst of a contentious rulemaking on automated decision-making technologies (ADMT) and other privacy rule changes. Citing concerns about stifling AI innovation, businesses urged that the agency pump the brakes on the rulemaking last month (see 2501150017). In addition, the agency must select an executive director after the departure of Ashkan Soltani, who was previously the FTC’s chief technologist.
“I think the board is at a … very important point right now with this rulemaking, selecting a new executive director and dealing with potential threats of preemption,” said Le.
The proposed ADMT rules “are a great, very consumer-friendly starting point,” said Le. “I don’t imagine those rules will stay the same" as they go "through the rulemaking process, but … I’m very proud that the agency is starting from a very pro-consumer draft and essentially is figuring out how do we make that work for Silicon Valley and business.”
While Le can no longer vote on those rules, he will be "closely following what the board decides and where the rulemaking goes.” However, he noted that he won’t be allowed to do any direct lobbying or appear before the board in the near term.
While it's still early days for the CPPA, which held its first meeting in June 2021, the legislature might consider having rotating terms for board members, said Le. Another possibly good change would be making the role a full-time job, like with commissioners of other agencies, since that might make it easier to plan meetings, he said. “It was not an easy job,” he said. “It actually was quite time-consuming.”
Le “has consistently been one of the strongest voices for privacy on the board,” Hayley Tsukayama, EFF associate director-legislative activism, said in an email. “It's deeply disappointing to see him removed from that position. It is particularly concerning to lose his expertise and guidance as the Agency appoints its next Executive Director." Tsukayama hopes Le’s successor “will have the same dedication to centering the experiences of everyday people and vulnerable populations in their work, rather than the demands of industry.”