Privacy this week: California's SB-690, the Supreme Court on location data, and the FTC on kids

California's SB-690 is back in play

SB-690 would shut off a wave of California Invasion of Privacy Act, CIPA, lawsuits, though privacy attorneys note plenty of CIPA claims would keep surviving even if it passes. The Assembly Appropriations Committee takes it up after lawmakers return August 3.

The Supreme Court raises the bar on location data

The Supreme Court now requires law enforcement to take a different legal route before pulling location data from Google or Apple in suspectless crime cases, a real check on warrantless data grabs that had been happening under a lower standard.

Where enforcement is actually headed

More broadly, regulators are shifting focus away from notice language, the fine print nobody reads, toward how companies actually handle retention, deletion, and cross functional data governance. The FTC keeps tightening COPPA enforcement around children's privacy specifically, treating it as a top federal priority.

My take

The Supreme Court ruling on location data is the one to watch, it is a meaningful check on how easily law enforcement could sidestep a warrant by just asking a tech company for your phone's location history. I also like where regulators are heading with the shift from notice language to actual practice, a privacy policy nobody reads was never real protection. What companies actually do with retention and deletion is what matters, and enforcement is finally starting to catch up to that reality.

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