The California Consumer Privacy Act is a governmental response to the outcry of citizens who are frustrated with the sale of their personal information. In the past, businesses freely collected and sold consumers’ website histories, email addresses, phone numbers and more. Consumers ended up with inboxes full of ads, and some of their information made its way to uncouth entities on the dark web. The act aims to give Californians more control over their information.
What is the CCPA?
The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) will come into effect on January 1, 2020. It is a privacy act designed to protect Californian citizens’ rights to the data that companies collect about them. The CCPA also gives more power to consumers who don’t want their data being sold. In the past, companies could collect data and use it for their own marketing needs. They could also sell it to third parties at any time for marketing or data collection purposes. The CCPA gives consumers access to their own data and allows them to halt the use or sale of their data to third parties.
Implications for California Businesses
California business owners will have to honor the privacy rights of the state’s citizens. The law applies to three groups of companies in California. These three groups include companies that get the majority of their revenue from selling data to third parties, companies that have an annual gross revenue of at least $25 million and companies that sell, buy or trade the personal information of at least 50,000 consumers, households or device per year.
What You Can Start Doing Now
Business owners need to take action now in order to be ready for the 2020 implementation of the CCPA. One action that business owners should take now is to start writing their privacy policies. This should be done in conjunction with a lawyer or law firm that is familiar with the law. Another action that business owners in California should take is to provide their privacy information to consumers. The European Union’s GDPR is a good example of how to do this.
Businesses need to be ready for the CCPA. Those that are not could face civil suits from consumers and criminal suits by the state of California. Now is the time for companies to wrap up their preparations and plan for their implementation. Make sure to reach out to Nowland Law with any legal questions you may have about preparing for these changes.