Big Day for California Privacy Law

The California legislature will deliver a sweeping privacy bill of rights for consumers to California Governor Jerry Brown today for signature. If Brown signs it today, the controversial ballot initiative on privacy will be pulled from the November ballot and the California people will get the nation’s first version of the privacy rights provided in GDPR.

A brief recap on how we got to this point in about a week: When it became clear that the California Consumer Privacy Act received enough signatures to get placed on the ballot this fall, proponents of the initiative, the legislature and businesses struck a deal to remove the measure from a public vote if the California government adopted a privacy bill by the deadline to finalize the ballot. If the Governor does not sign the proposed bill by today’s deadline, then the November ballot will contain a poll of the California people on the current initiative.

The primary sponsor of the bill, State Senator Bob Hertzberg, D-Los Angeles, intends to deliver the bill to the Governor for signature by 3 PM (Pacific time) today. There has been no statement from the California Governor about whether he would sign the bill or not.

The latest polling suggests the privacy measure would pass if put to a vote in November although there is expected to be heavy opposition from business. The ballot initiative has several differences than the compromise bill AB 375, including higher fines and a provision authorizing monetary rewards to whistleblowers.

There have been a few changes to the AB 375 text since the compromise bill was proposed last week and we last covered it, the most important of which extends the private cause of action provided to consumers. Instead of limiting the action to security breaches, it will now extend to the disclosure of a consumer’s nonencrypted or nonredacted personal information. In other words, for each violation of the law by a business, consumers will be able to sue for $100 to $750 (or actual damages, whichever is greater).

Businesses will be required to comply with the law starting on January 1, 2020. For businesses that went through the GDPR compliance process, it will simply be another regulatury hurdle as governments begin to tighten regulations of how privacy is handled on the internet.

For those that did not collect or otherwise process data of EU citizens, they will need to begin their compliance efforts. They will need to develop the capabilities to tell consumers what information they have collected as well as erase that information upon request. They will also need to be able to allow consumers to opt-out from having their information sold. Instead of trying to develop these tools internally at tremendous expense, a cost effective solution will be to purchase the Clarip privacy compliance software.

It’s a big day for privacy law and consumer rights in the United States. The law would be the nation’s leading protections for privacy and is expected to set the tone for privacy laws in other states as well as the conduct of tech companies online, so many of which are based in California.

Contact Clarip for Help with Your Privacy Program

The Clarip data privacy software and team are available to help improve privacy practices at your organization. Click here to contact us (return messages within 24 hours) or call 1-888-252-5653 to schedule a demo or speak to a member of the Clarip team.

If you are working towards GDPR compliance, we can help through our modular GDPR software. Whether you are starting the process with GDPR data mapping software, need privacy impact assessment software, or looking to meet ePrivacy requirements with cookie consent manager, Clarip can help strengthen your privacy program.

If CCPA compliance in 2020 is on your radar, ask us about our California Consumer Privacy Act software. Improve efficiency of responses to data subject access requests with our DSAR Portal, or provide the right to opt out of the sale of personal information with our consent software.

Click here to contact us (return messages within 24 hours) or call 1-888-252-5653 to schedule a demo and speak to a member of the Clarip team.
Other Blog Posts on the California Consumer Privacy Act:

PWC Survey on CCPA: Enterprise Compliance Expected at 52% by January 1, 2020
California Adopts SB-1121 Amendments to Consumer Privacy Act
SB 1121 to Amend California Consumer Privacy Act Soon
California AG Objects to 5 Sections of CCPA Privacy Law
SB 1121 Won’t Make Substantive Changes to New California Privacy Law
SB 1121 Amendments Kickoff Debate Over California Consumer Privacy Act Changes
Expect AG to Issue California Privacy Regulations in June 2019
Will California’s Privacy Law Extend to the Rest of the Country?
Privacy Policy Changes Required by California Consumer Privacy Act
California to Pass New Privacy Law: CA Consumer Privacy Act