The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) is a state statute intended to enhance privacy rights and consumer protection for residents of California, United States. It is one of the most sweeping data privacy laws in the United States, designed to give consumers more control over the vast amounts of their personal information being collected by businesses.
Definition
The CCPA is a California state law that seeks to give California residents the right to know what information is collected about them and for what purposes, as well as who it’s being shared with. It also gives them the right to log out of this data, delete it, and opt out of its sale. It applies to companies that do business in California and meet certain criteria, such as generating at least $25 million in annual gross revenues or selling the personal information of 50,000 or more consumers, households or devices.
Purpose
Key Objective of the CCPA The bottom line is that the CCPA aims to safeguard consumer privacy and grant people more rights over their personal data. The CCPA accomplishes this by requiring businesses to be transparent and accountable with the information they collect, and by reducing the potential for companies’ misuse of individuals’ personal data and creating trust between people and businesses. The legislation also intends to incentivize businesses to take strong protection of data to limit the loss of data or data sharing that is not authorized.
How It Works
The CCPA provides consumers with the following key rights:
- Right to Know: California residents have the right to request a business to disclose the categories and specific pieces of personal information the business has collected about them.
- Right to Delete: You have the right to request the deletion of personal information that the business has collected from you, subject to certain exceptions.
- Right to Opt-Out of Sale: Consumer have the right to opt-out of the sale of the consumers personal information to another third party.
- Non-Discrimination: Businesses may not discriminate against consumers for exercising their CCPA rights, including by denying goods or services or charging different prices.
To be in compliant with the CCPA, the business will need to add new language to their Privacy Policy regarding consumers’ rights and the process and procedure to exercise them. They will also have to set up procedures to answer a consumer request within a certain time and bring their data handling practices in line with what’s required by the CCPA.
Best Practices
For businesses seeking to comply with the CCPA, the following best practices are recommended:
| Data Mapping | Conduct a thorough data mapping exercise to understand what personal information is collected, how it is used, and with whom it is shared. |
| Privacy Policy Updates | Regularly update privacy policies to reflect CCPA requirements and provide clear instructions for consumers to exercise their rights. |
| Consumer Request Management | Implement efficient processes to handle consumer requests for data access, deletion, and opt-out, ensuring timely responses. |
| Employee Training | Train employees on CCPA requirements and the importance of data privacy to ensure compliance throughout the organization. |
| Data Security Measures | Adopt robust data security measures to protect personal information from unauthorized access and breaches. |
FAQs
Businesses that operate in California and meet certain criteria, such as having annual gross revenues over $25 million, handling the personal information of 50,000 or more consumers, households, or devices, or deriving 50% or more of their annual revenues from selling consumers’ personal information, are subject to the CCPA.
The CCPA defines personal information broadly to include any information that identifies, relates to, describes, or could reasonably be linked with a particular consumer or household. This includes identifiers like names and addresses, as well as internet activity, geolocation data, and more.
Businesses that fail to comply with the CCPA may face civil penalties of up to $2,500 per violation or $7,500 per intentional violation. Additionally, consumers have the right to sue businesses for certain data breaches resulting from a lack of reasonable security measures.
While both the CCPA and the GDPR aim to protect consumer privacy, there are significant differences between the two. The GDPR is a European regulation with a broader scope and stricter requirements, while the CCPA is a state law with specific applicability to California residents. The GDPR also imposes more stringent penalties for non-compliance.