California just passed a new law known as the California Consumer Privacy Act, or CCPA. This set of laws has been hailed as a win for consumers because now they can easily access information about them that has been collected and sold. While this is great for consumers, it can be tough for businesses as these regulations must be immediately implemented to stay legal. This will go over the principles of CCPA law along with how it affects you and how to remain on the right side of this law.
What is CCPA?
CCPA is a collection of laws that was passed in 2018 and went into effect at the beginning of 2020. It targets both consumers and businesses that collect and sell personal information. This applies to businesses that simply collect information to better target consumers to marketers that make their livelihood by collecting and selling this information. In effect, this targets almost all modern businesses as many are collecting information to improve their revenue.
While this can be scary for businesses since it overhauls information collection and dissemination, it also presents an opportunity. Adhering to CCPA allows you to show your company as a strong supporter of consumer rights. Consumers love businesses that display proper ethics.
This was introduced to better protect consumers and to make them aware of what information was collected, why it was collected and who it’s being sold to. The CCPA laws allow consumers to request this information whenever they want. On top of that, the information must be in a digestible format.
Consumers can request this report whenever they want. The report must specifically show why information was collected, what was taken and who it was sold to or shared with. Not only that, but a consumer can request that the data be deleted, and they have the right to opt out of companies selling their data.
What are the Principles of CCPA?
Many people have likened CCPA to the General Data Protection Regulation law, or GDPR, that recently took effect in the European Union. Both laws are similar because they make it easier for consumers to access their data. Both laws also give consumers more control of their data and allow them to opt out of having their data shared.
In general, the principles of CCPA law are transparency, accountability and control. This affects both consumers and businesses. Businesses are expected to be more transparent about what information they collect, who they sell and share it with and why they collected certain information.
In this digital age, consumers are often sharing more information than they’d like and most don’t know what is collected and why businesses want it. This law makes the information collect process more transparent. It also tells consumers exactly what information was collected on them based on their online activity, transaction history and more.
This makes businesses more accountable because they must respond to inquiries from consumers about their data. Businesses must also provide the information in a way that’s easy to read with minimal legal jargon.
All of this improves consumer control. They can request this information whenever they want. They can also opt out of the information being shared or sold, and they can also request that the data be deleted. A business must respond accordingly.
Who Does CCPA Apply To?
CCPA applies to every business that collects information. This means it affects marketing and advertising agencies the most because they are directly involved in collecting and selling information. At the same time, virtually every business will be hit by CCPA.
Almost every business collects information. From basic information like what a consumer is buying and keeping a record of it to online activity on their website. This has become common practice and it’s virtually impossible for a business to survive without collecting some data. Due to this, every business must make sure they are on the right side of the CCPA to avoid penalties.
Conclusion
CCPA law is aimed at putting consumers in control of their information by making it easy for them to access and control any collected data. This affects almost every business since most do collect data on consumers, but it also provides an opportunity to show consumers that the business stands for ethics and accountability.
