CCPA Takes Effect

While browsing the Internet in California this year, you may have noticed new pop-ups or links that talk about your privacy rights. In order to maintain compliance, these notifications facilitate an easy ‘opt out’ for site visitors who do not want their personal information used.

Retailers, online publications, and a variety of other businesses must now offer those options under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), which took effect on January 1, 2020. You can read our previous blog post on the topic here.

The CCPA grants new privacy rights that allow consumers in California to gain back power over their personal information. These include the right to:

• Understand which personal information is collected, used, shared, or sold.
• Remove personal information held by businesses and their service providers.
• Opt-out of the sale of personal information.
• Non-discrimination of the price of services when exercising a CCPA privacy right.

Starting this year, businesses subject to the new rules under the CCPA must notify consumers before they collect their data. They must also provide a “Do Not Sell My Info” link on their websites and mobile apps to make it easier for people opt out.

Consumers deserve to be in control of their personal information. For too long, businesses have been able to take and use consumer information without their expressed knowledge. Personal information is stored, shared, sold, and in an era where data is gold, stolen.

Corporations that store personal information have a responsibility to protect that information and we at CaseyGerry know firsthand the detriment that inadequate protections may cause. We have held numerous corporations accountable for data breaches that have violated millions of users’ privacy rights. CaseyGerry Partner, Gayle M. Blatt who heads the complex litigation department at the firm, has been involved in several high-profile data breach class actions including the Sony Gaming Networks data breach that violated the privacy rights of over 70 million users, and the YAHOO!! data breaches that left millions of accounts across the country vulnerable to hackers.

In addition to the new law, an initiative by Alastair Mactaggart, founder and chair of Californians for Consumer Privacy, is pushing for legislation that would grant new rights around the use of Californians’ sensitive data regarding a person’s health, financial information, sexual orientation, and race. The California Consumer Protection Act is just the beginning for better consumer privacy laws, and could very well be the precursor to a nationwide campaign, including implementation by big corporations like Microsoft who plans to adopt the provisions for all its customers.

To read more news stories involving consumers and how CaseyGerry helps protect them, visit our blog.