CCPA Overview: Protecting Consumers’ Privacy Since 2020
The California Consumer Privacy Act, or CCPA, was passed in June of 2018 and went into effect on January 1, 2020. It relates to the collection and sale of consumer information by large companies. Under this act, consumers must be given the chance to opt out of having their data sold to third parties. However, this is just the beginning.
The CCPA also guarantees Californians the right to request and receive a report detailing the information a company has collected about them online, as well as a list of third parties that have been given access to it. Additionally, consumers are also given the right to delete the personal information of theirs that a company has stored. Failure to comply with the CCPA may result in steep fines.
The CCPA’s definition of personal information is quite extensive. Examples include consumers’ browsing history, information regarding their interactions with a website or app, purchase information, geolocation, personal identifiers such as real name or address, and more.
What Businesses Does the CCPA Apply to?
The CCPA applies to companies that do business in California, serve Californians, or collect information regarding California site or app users, and also meet any of the following criteria.
- Make over $25 million in annual revenue.
- Obtain over half of the money they make by selling consumer data.
- Collect information on over 50,000 users.
By these standards, the CCPA will have a large impact, affecting at least 500,000 businesses.