Bay Area

AG Bonta Calls for Dismissal of Lawsuit Challenging State’s Data Privacy Law for Children

State Attorney General Rob Bonta filed a brief Friday asking a federal district court judge to strike down a lawsuit challenging the state’s law requiring social media companies to prioritize the privacy and safety of data collected from minors. Assembly Bill 2733, authored by Assemblywoman Buffy Wicks, D-Oakland, was signed into law last year and regulates companies that provide “an online service, product or feature likely to be accessed by children.”

Published

2 years ago

May 8, 2023

Oakland Post

By Eli Walsh
Bay City News

Assembly Bill 2733, authored by Assemblywoman Buffy Wicks, D-Oakland, was signed into law last year and regulates companies that provide “an online service, product or feature likely to be accessed by children.”

The law is modeled on the United Kingdom’s Age Appropriate Design Code, which requires that businesses provide privacy protection to children by default. It also prohibits businesses from using a child’s data or information for any other reason besides the purpose for which it was collected.

While the law isn’t set to go into effect until July 1, 2024, the industry group NetChoice — representing a group of companies that include Meta, Twitter, TikTok and Amazon — filed a lawsuit arguing that it violates the First Amendment via the government controlling online speech.

“AB 2273 undermines children’s privacy by forcing sites, regardless of how secure they are, to track and store information identifying which users are children,” NetChoice argues on its website about the lawsuit. “Child predators and hackers will be drawn to less secure sites as goldmines for children’s sensitive data.”

Bonta is named as a defendant in the lawsuit. In his brief, filed with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, he argued that the law does not violate free speech rights because it does not regulate or restrict social media content for any user and does not conflict with existing federal law.

“This is not about free speech: the companies challenging this law are doing so because they want to continue to make money from our kids’ online activity,” Bonta said. “In California, it is no longer business as usual when it comes to designing online services, products, and features that are accessed by kids – it’s time to elevate and protect children’s privacy and safety.”

A hearing on Bonta’s brief and request to dismiss the lawsuit is scheduled for July 27, 2023, according to the Northern District of California.

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Chevron Richmond Installs Baker Hughes Flare.IQ, Real-time Flare Monitoring, Control and Reduction System

While the sight of flaring can cause concern in the community, flares are essential safety systems that burn pollutants to prevent them from being released directly into the atmosphere. They activate during startup and shut-down of facility units or during upsets or equipment malfunctions. The typical flare stack is about 200 feet high so that vapors are well above street levels.

Published

2 weeks ago

May 19, 2025

Oakland Post

Image courtesy The Richmond Standard.

The Richmond Standard

Chevron Richmond recently installed flare.IQ, a real-time, automated system that will improve the facility’s flaring performance.

The technology, developed by Panametrics, a Baker Hughes business, uses sensors to monitor, reduce and control flaring in real time. It collects and assesses data on refinery processes, such as temperature, pressure, gas flow and gas composition, and adjusts accordingly to ensure flares burn more efficiently and cleanly, leading to fewer emissions.

“The cleaner the flare, the brighter the flame can look,” said Duy Nguyen, a Chevron Richmond flaring specialist. “If you see a brighter flame than usual on a flare, that actually means flare.IQ is operating as intended.”

“A key element in Baker Hughes’ emissions abatement portfolio, flare.IQ has a proven track record in optimizing flare operations and significantly reducing emissions,” said Colin Hehir, vice president of Panametrics, a Baker Hughes business. “By partnering with Chevron Richmond, one of the first operators in North America to adopt flare.IQ, we are looking forward to enhancing the plant’s flaring operations.”

The installation of flare.IQ is part of a broader and ongoing effort by Chevron Richmond to improve flare performance, particularly in response to increased events after the new, more efficient hydrogen plant was brought online in 2019.

Since then, the company has invested $25 million — and counting — into flare minimization. As part of the effort, a multidisciplinary refinery team was formed to find and implement ways to improve operational reliability and ultimately reduce flaring. Operators and other employees involved in management of flares and flare gas recovery systems undergo new training.

“It is important to me that the community knows we are working hard to lower emissions and improve our flaring performance,” Nguyen said.

Also evolving is the process by which community members are notified of flaring incidents. The Community Warning System (CWS), operated by Contra Costa County is an “all-hazard” public warning system.

Residents can opt-in to receive alerts via text, e-mail and landline. The CWS was recently expanded to enable residents to receive notifications for “Level 1” incidents, which are considered informational as they do not require any community action.

For more information related to these topics, check out the resources included on the Chevron Richmond, CAER and Contra Costa Health websites. Residents are also encouraged to follow @chevronrichmond and @RFDCAOnline on Facebook and X (formerly Twitter), where additional information may be posted during an incident.