SB 690 opens door to digital exploitation of immigrants

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OPINION — California’s immigrant communities know what it feels like to be targeted.

For decades, bad actors have preyed on immigrants through scams, misinformation, intimidation, and fear. Families have been tricked by fraudulent immigration consultants, targeted by misleading advertisements, and pressured by organizations seeking to manipulate their fears for political or financial gain.

Yet instead of addressing these harms with precision, SB 690 risks creating a system that could leave immigrant communities even more vulnerable.

Supporters argue that SB 690 is intended to protect small businesses from litigations and compliance burdens. Protecting people from excessive laws is an important goal. But when lawmakers create broad new regulations governing how information is shared and delivered, they must consider who will bear the unintended consequences.

Too often, those consequences fall hardest on communities with the least power.

Immigrant families increasingly rely on digital platforms to access information about healthcare, education, legal services, workers’ rights, public benefits, and civic engagement.

Language barriers, economic challenges, and limited access to traditional media make digital outreach a necessity, not a luxury. Community organizations, advocacy groups, and local leaders depend on technology to reach people where they are.

The reality is that immigrant communities are already flooded with fear-based messaging. Every election cycle, every immigration debate, and every major policy fight bring a new wave of advertisements and online campaigns designed to provoke fear, confusion, and division.

Some seek to discourage participation in civic life. Others attempt to manipulate public opinion by exploiting deeply personal concerns about family, immigration status, safety, or economic security.

The answer to these abuses is not vague regulations that may chill legitimate outreach while sophisticated bad actors simply adapt and move on. The greater concern is who ultimately benefits from laws like SB 690.

Large corporations, well-funded institutions, and powerful interests have teams of lawyers and compliance experts to navigate complex regulations.

Small nonprofit organizations, grassroots advocates, ethnic media outlets, and community groups do not.

When government creates new layers of uncertainty, it is often the smallest voices that are silenced first.

That should concern every Californian. Immigrant communities have spent decades fighting for language access, voting rights, consumer protections, and representation in public decision-making.

We know from experience that policies designed without our input often produce consequences lawmakers never anticipated.

California should be especially cautious about any policy that could limit the ability of trusted community organizations to communicate directly with immigrant families.

At a time when misinformation is spreading rapidly online, communities need more access to trusted information, not less. They need stronger protections from fraud, not additional barriers that make it harder for legitimate organizations to reach them.

Fear remains one of the most powerful tools used against immigrant communities. Whether the goal is political influence, financial gain, or social division, those who traffic in fear are constantly finding new ways to exploit vulnerable populations.

Any legislation aimed at protecting consumers must be carefully crafted to ensure it does not unintentionally strengthen the hand of those already holding the most power.

Immigrant communities deserve safeguards against digital exploitation. They deserve protection from scams, manipulation, and deception. What they do not deserve is to become the testing ground for policies that may ultimately make these problems worse.

Before moving forward with SB 690, lawmakers should ask a simple question: Will this legislation truly empower immigrant communities, or will it leave them even more vulnerable to the very exploitation it claims to prevent?

Marcela Miranda is the executive director of the California Ranked Choice Voting Coalition.