FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 
SIIA CONTACT: Michelle Harris, 202.789.4450
SIIA Cautions that the CPRA Will Be Detrimental to Education Tech
WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 29, 2020) – The Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA), the principal association for the software, information, and digital content industries, cautions that California’s certification of the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA) to appear on the November ballot will disrupt education technology and school and distance learning.
SIIA President, Jeff Joseph, issued the following statement:
“While we are heartened that the CPRA clarifies and improves some aspects of the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), most notably by fixing the CCPA’s First Amendment infirmities with respect to publicly available information, it makes the wrong policy calls in a number of areas and leaves little room for the legislature to fix these flaws.
“As drafted, the CPRA can be interpreted to present educational technology companies with an impossible choice: comply with the CPRA, and remove data from school records on student request and breach their contract with the school, thereby jeopardizing the school’s federal funding, or refuse and face liability for breaching the CPRA.
“This is the wrong balance and detrimental to both classroom and distance learning, which the California Attorney General recognized when he fixed the same policy error in the CCPA regulations.
“SIIA supports robust and comprehensive privacy regulation, but like all regulations it must reflect balance against competing values, from constitutional norms to the realities of business and educational operations. The policy misjudgments inherent in the CPRA underscore the need for Congress to act and pass a thoughtful national and comprehensive data privacy standard that sets the rules of the road, for industry and consumers alike.”
About SIIA:
SIIA is an umbrella association that represents constituencies from technology, data and media companies. Through in-person and online business development opportunities, peer networking, corporate education, intellectual property protection and government relations, SIIA provides a network of resources for its 800+ member companies that drive innovation and growth. For more information, visit www.siia.net.
