The COVID-19 pandemic has laid bare our reliance on technology and data while forcing millions of Californians to work and attend school virtually. The pandemic has also opened a Pandora's box of technology challenges for consumers and policymakers alike—including very real concerns related to data-driven racial profiling and bias.

Data is the oil that drives the California and global economy, and businesses like retailers, banks and airlines need it to effectively run their daily operations. But concerns about consumer privacy continue to mount.

On July 16, the European Union's highest court, the European Court of Justice, invalidated the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield program, a vehicle for responsibly moving data from the EU to the United States. The ECJ decision claimed that U.S. privacy laws were inadequate because of the government's national surveillance powers. The ECJ decision also reflected a desire for other reforms.

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