FEATURED ARTICLE — October 23rd, 2019

California’s New CCPA Rule Could Affect Businesses Even Beyond the State’s Borders

By Monica Eaton-Cardone

Consumers in the US already have the right to say and believe what they want. But, under new California regulations effective January 2020, residents in that state will soon have the right to forget what they want, too.

The California Consumer Privacy Act—or CCPA—is among the biggest overhauls of US consumer security policy in decades. Under the law, individuals enjoy much more latitude in deciding how their data is collected and used. This new law could have a profound impact on businesses, though, even those outside of California.

The CCPA: Explained

The California Consumer Privacy Act is like the state’s own version of the General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR, implemented by the EU back in May 2018. Unlike the GDPR, the new law does not give consumers the right to opt-out of data collection entirely. However, they will have oversight regarding what data is collected and how it’s stored.

Most importantly, consumers can demand that businesses delete any of their personal information at any time. This is what European lawmakers referred to as a “right to be forgotten” when drafting the GDPR.

The CCPA is a complex piece of legislation. However, there are the three key concepts to keep in mind when thinking about the law’s purpose and intent:

#1. Informed Consent: Businesses should get consent from consumers to use their data. Consumers have the right to know what is being collected about them, how it is stored, and who has access to it.

#2. Right to Erasure: Businesses shouldn’t hold on to data longer than necessary. Thus, consumers can request that their data be destroyed at any time, for any reason. That means businesses must know exactly where every piece of personal data is stored at all times.

#3.... Read More