Written by: Haim Ravia, Dotan Hammer
A new bill in California would prohibit businesses from developing or maintaining an Internet browser unless it includes functionality configurable by the user that enables the browser to send an opt-out preference signal. Under the California Privacy Protection Act and its implementing regulations, an opt-out preference signal is a technology tool that communicates the choice of a user of a browser to opt out of the sale and sharing of the user’s personal information for online-ad purposes.
The bill, named the California Opt Me Out Act, would also require businesses that develop or maintain browsers to make clear to users how the opt-out preference signal works and the intended effect of the opt-out preference signal. The new bill is pending the approval of the Governor of California.
Meanwhile, California Senate Bill No. 7 (SB 7), which is also pending the approval of the Governor, would add new provisions to the California Labor Code concerning the use of Automated Decision Systems (ADS) in the workplace. Under the bill, an ADS is defined as an engineered or machine-based system, derived from artificial intelligence, machine learning, or statistical modeling, that issues simplified output (like a score or classification) to assist or replace human decision-making, thereby materially impacting natural persons. An “employment-related decision” covers actions materially impacting a worker’s wages, schedule, performance evaluation, hiring, discipline, or termination.
The bill mandates that employers provide a written pre-use notice to all California workers foreseeably affected by an ADS (for non-hiring employment decisions). This notice must be given at least 30 days before the ADS is deployed, or by April 1, 2026, if the ADS is already in use. The notice must be a stand-alone communication, detailing the types of employment decisions affected, the categories and sources of worker input data used, and any quotas set or measured by the ADS. Job applicants must also be notified if an ADS is utilized in making hiring decisions for the position.
The bill establishes specific restrictions on ADS use:
- An employer shall not use an ADS to prevent compliance with or violate federal, state, or local labor or civil rights laws.
- An employer shall not use an ADS to infer a worker’s protected status or take adverse action against a worker for exercising legal rights.
- An employer shall not rely solely on an ADS for a discipline, termination, or deactivation decision. If the employer relies primarily on ADS output for such decisions, a human reviewer must review the output and compile other relevant information (e.g., personnel files, supervisory evaluations).
- Customer ratings cannot be the only or primary input data for an ADS when making employment-related decisions.
Workers are granted the right to request, once every 12 months, a copy of the most recent 12 months of their own data primarily used by an ADS for a discipline, termination, or deactivation decision. If a primary reliance on an ADS leads to such a decision, the employer must provide a written post-use notice detailing the decision and the worker’s right to request their data.
Click here to read the California Opt Me Out Act.
Click here to read the California Senate Bill 7 on Automated Decision Systems In The Workplace.
