Purism’s CEO Todd Weaver Testifies at California Congressional Privacy Commission

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Todd Weaver

Founder and CEO
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• Purism Differentiator Series, Part 12: Secure Supply Chain and Made in USA Electronics - April 22, 2024

Thank you Chairman Chau and committee members.

My name is Todd Weaver, and I think you’ll find I’m an unusual witness here today, while I may be sitting side-by-side with impressive privacy protection groups, I am here as the CEO of a rapidly growing technology company based in California.

I am here calling for much stronger consumer privacy protections – starting with giving consumers the power to opt IN rather than opt OUT of sharing their personal data.

I am here to tell you it’s time for California’s extraordinary tech industry to stop harvesting and “sharing” our most personal private data without our meaningful consent and knowledge.

I am not here to tell you AB 375 (or stronger) protections are tough to implement, history is filled with wrongdoers complaining that doing right will put them out of business only to comply and thrive later. Incidentally, this same tech industry complained about Europe’s GDPR that certainly did not put them out of business.

I am here to tell you the new law (or stronger) is easy to technically comply with – if we companies simply begin to honor our customer’s privacy rights and design our services to be privacy-protecting rather than privacy-exploiting.

I started Purism, when I came to realize that my two young daughters, like all children, need convenient products and services that protect them, rather than exploit them.

As a technologist, I understand painfully well how much the technology sector can exploit my kids with ease.

That’s why I started this social purpose company founded on privacy-protection principles. Purism is already manufacturing in California and assembling these laptops shown right here, including the operating system, applications, and bundled services.

We will also this year be manufacturing a privacy-designed phone with bundled services that comply with AB 375 and go even further with opt-in by default for all offered services.

We have been growing by triple digits annually, reflecting the huge built up consumer demand from parents and professionals and enterprises just like you who simply want to keep their and their children’s lives private and secure.

This is done by a simple approach: privacy by design.

As AB 375 seeks to make clear, privacy is a right, and your every location and every communication and every webpage and every search stored permanently should not be exploited to use needed services online.

I strongly suggest the time has come for Californians to take back their constitutional right of privacy on the Internet, and urge you to substantially strengthen the privacy protections afforded by AB 375.

For your and my childrens’ sake, Thank you.