This past summer the California legislature passed, and later amended, the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (CCPA). The CCPA grants California consumers an unprecedented amount of rights regarding their personal information (PI) and an expansion of consumer privacy expectations. Although the CCPA does not go into effect until Jan. 1, 2020, a key provision known as the “look back” requires California businesses covered by the CCPA to begin preparing now. This article provides a brief overview of the key provisions included in the CCPA, the “look back” provision, how to take action for compliance now and the potential penalties for violating the CCPA.

Although the CCPA will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2020, it should be noted that many of the regulations related to key provisions, such as the scope of definitions, opt-out provisions and penalties remain unclear. The California Attorney General’s Office is currently soliciting public comments on the CCPA to help address these issues.

Is Your Business Affected by the CCPA?