October 26, 2020

Voting on Behalf of Privacy

Your vote could impact privacy rights. Here’s how you can advocate on behalf of privacy rights while protecting your privacy.

If you get one message from this article, it’s this: Vote.

Recently, one of our Startpage team members said, “You can’t have privacy without democracy and you can’t have democracy without privacy.” We believe this is true, now more than ever.

Why your vote matters when it comes to privacy

Every election, you’re electing representatives who will make decisions that will affect your life. These decisions will affect your finances, civil liberties, privacy rights, and more. In some locations, you may even have the opportunity to vote on ballot initiatives that directly impact YOUR privacy rights.

Voters in California, for instance, have the opportunity to vote on privacy law in this coming election. Proposition 24, also known as California Privacy Rights and Enforcement Act of 2020 (CPRA) would expand and amend California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (CCPA). According to California’s Official Voter Guide, Prop 24: 

“Permits consumers to: prevent businesses from sharing personal information, correct inaccurate personal information, and limit businesses’ use of “sensitive personal information,” including precise geolocation, race, ethnicity, and health information. Establishes California Privacy Protection Agency.” (https://voterguide.sos.ca.gov/propositions/24/)

Privacy rights organization Electronic Frontier Foundation hasn’t taken a stand on California’s Prop 24, but CommonSense.org and Consumer Watchdog have expressed their support for the initiative.

Shoshana Zuboff, privacy scholar and author of The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power, has stated her support:

“If passed, the law will give Californians among the best privacy protections in the world, and it includes provisions for its continuous strengthening against the relentless assaults of tech lobbyists.” (https://www.caprivacy.org/award-winning-author-and-privacy-expert-shoshana-zuboff-joins-advisory-board-of-californians-for-consumer-privacy-in-support-of-prop-24/)

If you consider yourself a privacy advocate, we encourage you to vote in every election. Make your voice heard. The representatives you elect today could be making decisions about your privacy tomorrow. And, the ballot initiatives you vote for, could protect your privacy rights or strip them from you.

How to advocate on behalf of privacy rights

You can take part in shaping privacy laws in your area.

Before you vote, get informed! Make sure you’re getting accurate election information on candidates and ballot initiatives.

  • For candidates, look into whether they have a stance on privacy rights. If they haven’t expressed a stance on privacy, use social media to reach out to candidates.
  • For ballot initiatives, it always helps to get all sides: pro, con, and other views. Check to see who’s supporting each side. On privacy-related ballot initiatives, check to see if recognized privacy rights organizations and leaders have taken a stand.

Careful with manipulative content! Avoid news articles and ads that attempt to persuade you a certain way without any facts or transparent reasoning.

  • For articles, read about the same topics from different sources. Compare them and make your own judgment. Use Startpage to receive a more accurate, unprofiled representation of the news. When searching for information on Startpage, you’ve ensured that the news articles you receive aren’t based on an algorithm created by Big Tech.
  • For ads, examine the headline and source. Whether you’re reading your social media feed, browsing the web, or searching on a non-private search engine, there’s a reason why you’re being served a specific ad. It was targeted to you with the hope to persuade you.

Download the extension?
Install Startpage's private search browser extension.

How to protect your privacy and security as you vote

This election season, there’s been a lot of misinformation about election cybersecurity and privacy. This has discouraged a lot of people from voting and encouraged others to remain hyper-vigilant. 

Here are some ways people may try to infringe on voter rights, here are two examples that many people are currently facing:

  • Prevent you from voting privately.
  • Aggressively question you or another voter about citizenship, criminal record, or other qualifications to vote.

First of all, according to US law, “you have the right to cast your vote in private. It’s up to you whether you want to share your choices with others.”

On the second point, “It’s illegal to intimidate voters and a federal crime to “intimidate, threaten, [or] coerce … any other person for the purpose of interfering with the right of [that] other person to vote or to vote as he may choose.” We suggest that you know your rights and calmly ignore any unnecessary questions about your ability to vote. 

For more information on your voting rights: https://www.aclu.org/know-your-rights/voting-rights/

Privacy Pro Tip: As the US election gets closer, we’re hearing a lot of misinformation about election security. In the US, the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency has developed an election security rumor control page

Was this article helpful?

Go Private

Make Startpage your
default search engine

Set as default