As we mentioned in a previous blog, the California Consumer Privacy Act or CCPA, is an expansive piece of legislation that gives California consumers rights to their personal data for the first time.
At its core, the CCPA will allow consumers to know what personal data is being collected about them and request a business to delete that personal information. Consumers will also receive the right to say no to the sale of their personal data and to know whether their personal data is sold and to whom.
The law also specifies that businesses need to make the option to opt-out of data sharing clearly visible on the homepage of their websites. Companies will also need to designate methods for data access requests, including, at a minimum, a toll-free telephone number.
While the CCPA went into effect on January 1st of this year and private lawsuits can be filed, there is another deadline looming that companies need to know about. Beginning on July 1st, 2020, the California Attorney General’s office will be able to enforce any violation of the CCPA, and the penalties are harsh. Because of this, it’s vitally important to make final preparations now before it’s too late.
What should you do now?
There are a number of steps that need to be taken to ensure your website is in line with the CCPA. The first step is performing a full audit of your site, reviewing how data is being collected and where it’s being stored. Through this audit, it’s important to not just look at your website but all of the 3rd party components and add-ons that may be collecting consumer information on your behalf.
Once you find this data, you need to find a way to manage CCPA requests when they come in. California Consumers have already gained the right to contact a company and ask them to locate and delete all of their data. The AG enforcement date in July adds an additional layer of scrutiny. Find a simple method to locate and purge consumer data whether this is through a spreadsheet or by other means. Americaneagle.com offers a custom suite of online tools to help you search and manage your consumers’ personal data when those requests come in.
While you’re making all of these preparations, it’s also important to have a legal partner by your side to help navigate the law. Consider contacting a firm to learn more about the law and prepare a comprehensive privacy policy for your organization.
Do you want to know more about the impacts of the CCPA and how it can affect your company? As the July 1st enforcement deadline approaches, Americaneagle.com and Nixon Peabody LLP have teamed up once again for an informative webinar. In this webinar, we provided an in depth analysis of the regulations and the changes that have taken place since January. In addition, the webinar covered the issues companies have been experiencing since the start of the year, as well as what enforcement efforts will look like moving forward.
