InfoBytes Blog

California again modifies CCPA regs; appoints privacy agency’s board

On March 15, the California attorney general announced approval of additional regulations implementing the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). The CCPA—enacted in June 2018 (covered by a Buckley Special Alert) and amended several times—became effective January 1, 2020. According to the announcement, the newly-approved amendments strengthen the language of CCPA regulations approved by OAL last August (covered by InfoBytes here). Specifically, the new amendments:

• Require businesses selling personal information collected in the course of interacting with consumers offline to provide consumers about their right to opt out via offline communications. Consumers must also be provided instructions on how to submit opt-out requests.
• Provide an opt-out icon for businesses to use in addition to posting a notice of right to opt-out. The amendments note that the opt-out icon may not be used in lieu of requirements to post opt-out notices or “do not sell my personal information” links.
• Require companies to use opt-out methods that are “easy” for consumers to execute and that require “minimal” steps to opt-out. Specifically, a “business’s process for submitting a request to opt-out shall not require more steps than that business’s process for a consumer to opt-in to the sale of personal information after having previously opted out.” Additionally, except as otherwise permitted by the regulations, companies are prohibited from requiring consumers to provide unnecessary personal information to implement an opt-out request, and may not require consumers to click through or listen to reasons as to why they should not submit an opt-out request. The amendments also state that businesses cannot require consumers “to search or scroll through the text of a privacy policy or similar document or webpage to locate the mechanism for submitting a request to opt-out.”

The AG’s press release also notes that the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA), which was approved by voters last November and sought to amend the CCPA, will transfer some of the AG’s responsibilities to the California Privacy Protection Agency (CPPA), covered by InfoBytes here; however, the AG will retain the authority to go to court to enforce the law. Enforcement of the CPRA will begin in 2023.

Additionally, on March 17, the California governor announced appointments to the five-member inaugural board for the CPPA, consisting of experts in privacy, technology, and consumer rights. The CPPA is tasked with protecting the privacy rights of consumers over their personal information, and “will have full administrative power, authority, and jurisdiction to implement and enforce” the CCPA and the CPRA, including bringing enforcement actions before an administrative law judge.

State Issues State Regulators CCPA State Attorney General Privacy/Cyber Risk & Data Security CPRA CPPA Consumer Protection

California voters approve expanded privacy rights

On November 3, California voters approved a ballot initiative, the California Privacy Rights Act of 2020 (CPRA), that expands on the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). While there are a number of differences between the CPRA and the CCPA, some key provisions include:

• Adding expanded consumer rights, including the right to correction and the right to limit sharing of personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising, whether or not for monetary or other valuable consideration.
• Changing the definitions of various entities, including increasing the numerical threshold for being a business to 100,000 from 50,000 consumers and households and removing devices from this threshold.
• Adding the category of sensitive personal information that is subject to specific rights.
• Creating a new privacy agency, the California Privacy Protection Agency, to administer, implement, and enforce the CPRA.

It is important to note that the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act and Fair Credit Reporting Act exemptions are in the CPRA, and the act extends the employee and business-to-business exemption to January 1, 2023.

Implementation deadlines

The CPRA becomes effective January 1, 2023, with enforcement delayed until July 1, 2023. However, the CPRA contains a look-back provision (i.e., the CPRA will apply to personal information collected by a business on or after January 1, 2022). The new privacy agency also is required to begin drafting regulations starting on July 1, 2021, with final regulations to be completed one year later.

Learn more

Please refer to a Buckley article for further information on the differences between the CCPA and the CPRA: 6 Key Ways the California Privacy Rights Act of 2020 Would Revise the CCPA (Corporate Compliance Insights), as well a continuing InfoBytes coverage here.

Privacy/Cyber Risk & Data Security CCPA CPRA California Consumer Protection Ballot Initiative