Learn out. California’s Privacy Agency Audits Delivery, Ride-Share Apps https://news.bloomberglaw.com/privacy-and-data-security/californias-privacy-agency-audits-delivery-ride-share-apps… #tech #digital #privacy #crypto #ai

California’s Privacy Agency Audits Delivery, Ride-Share Apps

Source: https://news.bloomberglaw.com/privacy-and-data-security/californias-privacy-agency-audits-delivery-ride-share-apps California’s privacy agency has launched its first-ever audit, looking into delivery and transportation apps’ compliance with state law.

The agency said Tuesday it is taking a closer look at gig economy platforms that collect personal data about users and workers. It’s examining how employees and consumers can exercise their rights to know what data is being collected, how it’s being used, and with whom it’s getting shared.

The sector is ripe for a compliance audit as platforms can use geolocation data, behavioral and performance metrics, biometric data, and communications records to make decisions about workers’ assignments, performance ratings, and earnings, CalPrivacy said.

“We are fortunate in California that we have jurisdiction overemployee privacy,” Sabrina Ross, the agency’s chief privacy auditor, told Bloomberg Law. “We’re cognizant that employee monitoring technologies have evolved rapidly and that the amount of data employers are collecting is also changing in the age of AI.”

CalPrivacy started reaching out to gig economy companies that fall under the audit’s umbrella this summer, Ross said, and could reach out to more in the coming weeks.

Ross, the former privacy and AI policy director atMeta Platforms Inc.,took the helm of CalPrivacy’s new audit division in February. She also oversaw privacy in-house at ride-share giantUber Technologies Inc.,and atApple Inc.before that.

The agency picked its first industry target after receiving hundreds of consumer complaints and comments about it during rulemaking processes, CalPrivacy said.

“I will admit I was surprised by the volume just from this sector,” Ross said, referencing consumer comments.

As part of its audit, the agency said it will review platforms’ policies and practices, request relevant documentation and data, and interview company personnel. Ross’s team of auditors and technologists will also test apps’ processes directly.

The agency’s inquiries are scoped narrowly so platforms can respond to them quickly, she said. Her team will then publish a report about the industry’s state of compliance, similar to the Federal Trade Commission’s 6(b)market studies.

Some agencies’ public reports can take up to a year following audits, but Ross doesn’t anticipate that will happen with this report.

“I’m hoping to be significantly ahead of that,” she said.