The California Attorney General Is Committed to Enforcing the CCPA upon Finalizing the Regulations or July 1, Whichever Comes First

Last week, we reported that dozens of trade associations have asked the California Attorney General on March 17, 2020 to push back the CCPA enforcement deadline to January  2, 2021 in light of the Covid-19 pandemic arguing that “a temporary deferral in enforcement of the CCPA would relieve many pressures and stressors placed on organizations due to Covid-19 and would better enable business leaders to make responsible decisions that prioritize the needs and health of their workforce over other matters.”

In response to the open letter, an advisor to the California Attorney General Becerra stated that the Attorney General’s office is “committed to enforcing the law upon finalizing the [CCPA Regulations] or 1 July, whichever comes first.”  At the same time, the Attorney General’s office is “mindful of the new reality created by Covid-19 and the heightened value of protecting consumers’ privacy online that comes with it [and] encourage[s] businesses to be particularly mindful of data security in this time of emergency.”

On March 23, 2020, the Consumer Reports called on the Attorney General to uphold the CCPA enforcement despite the industry’s efforts to push it back.  The consumer group noted that even though the CCPA went into effect in January, many companies have avoided complying with the law and has characterized the requested delay as an “attempt by industry to avoid honoring California consumers’ constitutional right to privacy . . . Now that more consumers are working from home and relying on tech companies for crucial communications, the Attorney General needs to ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place.”

On March 11, 2020, the California Attorney General released the second set of modifications to the proposed CCPA Regulations.  The first draft of the Regulations was released on October 11 of last year and the first round of modifications on February 10.  The public comment period for the second round of modifications which is scheduled to run through March 27.

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