The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) Assembly Bill 375 (AB 375), empowers California residents by enabling them to request seeing personal information saved by any company serving California residents. Not only are the companies required to show the consumer all the personal information they have but are also required to disclose any third party with whom they have shared the consumer's information. Staying well-informed on legislation for this act is extremely important as it can be amended in the future to include additional requirements or regulations. If the CCPA is violated, consumers are within their rights to legally hold the company accountable, which may result in a lawsuit and/or fine(s).
California Governor, Jerry Brown, signed the Act into law in June 2018. The Act was born from a ballot initiative that collected over 600,000 signatures. Acts are preferred over ballot initiatives since they can be amended in the future, whereas ballot measures cannot be easily amended once initiated.
According to the California Legislative Information and Attorney General of California Department of Justice websites:
The CCPA grants new rights to California consumers:
- The right to know what personal information is collected, used, shared or sold, both as to the categories and specific pieces of personal information;
- The right to delete personal information held by businesses and by extension, a business’s service provider;
- The right to opt-out of sale of personal information. Consumers are able to direct a business that sells personal information to stop selling that information. Children under the age of 16 must provide opt in consent, with a parent or guardian consenting for children under 13.
- The right to non-discrimination in terms of price or service when a consumer exercises a privacy right under CCPA.
The CCPA became law on January 1st, 2020. Enforcement of the law starts on July 1st, 2020, making organizations liable to civil suit and regulatory fines.
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