Privacy in Action: Oklahoma Representative Collin Walke, Author of Data Privacy Bill

Collin Walke is the Oklahoma State Representative for HD87 and author of HB1602, the Oklahoma Computer Data Privacy Act.

Collin Walke is the Oklahoma State Representative for HD87. Virginia enacted strong new data privacy legislation in March. Now Walke is fighting hard to implement similar legislation in Oklahoma. 

Both Startpage and Walke have a common interest in fighting for people’s privacy rights. He recently introduced a bill in Oklahoma Legislature for a new data privacy law– HB1602, the Oklahoma Computer Data Privacy Act. Unfortunately, Oklahoma Legislature refused to hear the bill in their latest session. But Walke will continue to fight for HB1602 in a future session.

We interviewed Walke about his passion for improving digital privacy rights in Oklahoma. 

Interview with Rep. Colin Walke

Startpage: When did you start becoming interested in digital privacy?

Rep. Collin Walke: I grew up in Oklahoma, a state known more for cowboys and oil than technology. As a result, I was like most Americans and had no idea how data worked, nor had I ever heard the phrase “surveillance capitalism.” Then, in 2017, I read “Zucked” by Roger McNamee. I was blown away by the extent of data collection and manipulation. This was the catalyst for my passion regarding digital privacy, and it led me to reach out to Mr. McNamee to enlist his help in crafting legislation to address the problem. Eliminating surveillance capitalism and the pillaging of privacy has become my passion ever since.  

Startpage: How does your concern about privacy relate to your position as an Oklahoma state representative?

Rep. Collin Walke: I believe that the single greatest threat to our democracy is surveillance capitalism. That isn’t hyperbole. Algorithmic manipulation that feeds confirmation bias only serves to further divide people along political lines– and that, obviously, is disregarding the threat posed by misinformation that spreads like a virus through various web channels and is based upon data collection and manipulation. Indeed, political polarization was already in its ascendancy before AI and data collection added fuel to the fire because of gerrymandering. 

Gerrymandering legislative districts created a political landscape where once a party won a particular district it was extremely difficult for the other party to win that seat. A foreseeable, but apparently disregarded consequence of drawing safe political boundaries resulted in Republicans having to run to the right on issues and Democrats having to run to the left. This chasm prevents, and in fact disincentivizes working across the aisle, because failure to adhere to party lines results in primary challengers who are inherently more extreme. Sadly, it is not surprising that legislators have failed to act on both data privacy and gerrymandering because, much like global warming, data privacy and political boundaries are issues that, while ubiquitous, are practically invisible and haven’t yet created palpable cataclysmic effects that demand action.  

Startpage: Please tell us about HB1602 and how you introduced it in Oklahoma Legislature.

Rep. Collin Walke: HB1602 is the Oklahoma Computer Data Privacy Act (OCDPA).  It is similar to the CCPA and the VCDPA, but has two key differences. 

First, the OCDPA is “opt-in,” meaning, before a tech company can collect or sell your data you must “opt-in” to that transaction. The CCPA and VCDPA are both opt-out laws, and I believe that opt-out is what has created the problems we are seeing in the first place. Second, the OCDPA includes a right to be forgotten similar to the GDPR.

Even though I am a democrat in the reddest of red states, my best friend in the House is Republican Majority Leader Rep. Josh West. We decided more than a year ago to run this legislation because it is not a partisan issue. Before we put the bill together, we did an interim study on the issue to make sure that all sides had a seat at the table. Following the interim study, we crafted the OCDPA and obtained more than 40 coauthors between the House and Senate before the bill was ever heard! Such emphatic support for a bill as sweeping and important as this one has never occurred before to my knowledge.  

Startpage: Is there any chance HB1602 will pass?

Rep. Collin Walke: This is a lesson in politics for your readers: The OCDPA passed the Oklahoma House of Representatives by a vote of 85-11. The 85 “yes” votes represent roughly 3.1 million Oklahomans. However, as we like to say in the House, the enemy isn’t the other side of the aisle, it’s the Senate. Originally, the bill was supposed to be heard in the Senate business committee, and we were told that it would receive a hearing. However, the bill was instead assigned to the Senate judiciary committee, which is chaired by a person who has never even practiced law! The Chair refused to hear HB1602, even though we had reached an agreement with most of the original opponents of the bill.  The sole reason that HB1602 won’t receive a hearing this session is because Big Tech knew how to get the bill assigned to the “right” committee.  Thus, one person, who isn’t even qualified to hold the position of Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, was able to snuff out the voices of 3.1 million Oklahomans.

But, like Sisyphus, we will continue to push the rock up the hill. Next session, in addition to continuing to push for the OCDPA, I intend on filing multiple pieces of data privacy legislation including, but not limited to, mandating data privacy be taught as part of state curriculum to students in high school and prohibiting state contracts with companies like Idemia who collect consumers’ information without opt-in consent.  If your readers have other suggestions, I’m all ears.  

Startpage: Have you been following the new data privacy law in Virginia? 

Rep. Collin Walke: As part of the negotiations of the OCDPA, the tech industry wanted to use Virginia as a template.  Recognizing the difficulty of getting legislation passed, we were willing to work on legislation akin to Virginia even though it was not our first choice.  

Startpage: As you’ve been learning about how Big Tech threatens our privacy, what has surprised you the most?

Rep. Collin Walke: The sheer magnitude of the role data plays in our everyday lives. Almost everything we do is not only dependent upon data, but data actually shapes our worldview and behavior, usually without our awareness. My favorite example of this is Pokemon Go. The software utilized in Pokemon Go was derived from Google Glass, but everyone knew that people who wore Google Glass looked like a schmuck, so they snuck it into a game – or what most people thought was a game. Instead, it was actually an opportunity for advertisers to profit off of unsuspecting participants and to see how far people would let a game manipulate their behavior.

Startpage: So you’ve been learning about Startpage, the world’s first private search engine! How can we encourage Oklahomans to set it as their default search engine in their web browsers?

Rep. Collin Walke: Yell it from the mountain tops! First, I have already started telling all of my friends and family to use Startpage because of the quality of results and anonymity. Second, I would strongly urge all privacy groups to come together to begin a nationwide (or local) campaign to make data privacy a priority in every single home. 

In spite of successful books like “Zucked” and movies like “The Social Dilemma,” many Americans still do not know the extent of data collection, nor do they appreciate the effects. By engaging the public with facts about the manipulation we all suffer under surveillance capitalism, we can hopefully wake everyone up to the dangers of data manipulation, just like with smoking.