The Privacy Hawk Who Take On Big Tech

A California lawmaker’s bill went after Amazon and its peers. They fought back

- Joshua Brustein

The push to confront the power of big technology companies recently reached an inflection point. Federal regulators have divided up antitrust responsibilities over Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google, and both Democrats and Republicans are opening congressional inquiries into allegedly anticompetitive behavior in the industry.

A preview of a challenge to the tech industry, at least through legislative action, has been playing out in California. The state has often served as a testing ground for policy ideas stuck in Washingtonian gridlock. Last summer it passed the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), which gives residents the right to know how their data is being collected and shared and allows them to deny companies the right to sell it. The law is seen as a potential model for other states or for national rules. Since its passage, lobbying groups for the tech giants have backed several bills to shape the law in their favor.

One person attempting to stand in the way of the companies is Buffy Wicks, a freshman member of the California Assembly who sits on the Privacy and Consumer Protection Committee. Wicks has opposed industry-backed legislation and introduced her own bill to make the CCPA more restrictive. Separately, she promoted new rules to govern Amazon.com Inc.’s relationship with companies that sell their products on its platform. “I think we can push the envelope here in California, regardless of what happens in D.C.,” she says. But Wicks’s experience has also served as a reminder of how formidable the industry can be as a political opponent.