Complying with Newly Finalized CCPA Regulations

The landmark California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) requires certain companies doing business in California to implement new consumer privacy rights and provide new privacy policies to consumers. Even though the California attorney general’s right to enforce the law began July 1, 2020, the CCPA regulations did not become final and effective until August 14, 2020.

Now that the regulations are final, affected businesses must finalize their CCPA compliance programs if they have not already done so. However, it is important to note that the act is still undergoing changes, including a pending ballot initiative (the California Privacy Rights and Enforcement Act of 2020 (CPREA)) and AB 1281, which extends employment and business-to-business exemptions. Here are some key takeaways of what companies need to know to navigate the ongoing changes, manage potential enforcement actions, and create an effective compliance program.

• The CPREA will be included on the November 3 ballot. If it passes, the CPREA would amend the CCPA and allow consumers to opt out of a business’s use and disclosure of sensitive personal information, expand breach liability, allow consumers the right to have inaccurate personal information corrected, and extend employee and business-to-business exceptions.
• The CPREA would create a new enforcement agency: the California Privacy Protection Agency, which would assume the California attorney general’s responsibility for interpreting and enforcing the CCPA/CPREA.
• Despite industry efforts to postpone the July 1 enforcement deadline in light of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the attorney general’s office maintained the deadline. Perfect CCPA compliance is challenging because the regulations are far-reaching and have only recently been finalized, but companies may take reasonable, practical steps to achieve CCPA compliance and mitigate the risks of an attorney general enforcement action or a civil lawsuit under the CCPA’s new private right of action for security breaches.

If you're interested in Data Privacy and Protection Boot Camp, we invite you to subscribe to Morgan Lewis publications to receive updates on trends, legal developments, and other relevant areas that may be of interest to you.