Advertising & Marketing Groups Send AG Letter Seeking Flexibility on CCPA

The nation’s leading advertising and marketing trade associations have sent a letter to the California Attorney General expressing their concerns about aspects of the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) along with the need for regulatory or legislative solutions.

The letter was sent on January 31, 2019 from the Association of National Advertisers, the American Advertising Federation, the Interactive Advertising Bureau, the American Association of Advertising Agencies, and the Network Advertising Initiative. The letter promises more detailed comments in the near future.

The organizations have asked the Attorney General to clarify that businesses need not just provide an all-or-nothing option for the rights specified by the law. Instead, they want businesses to be able to offer reasonable options to consumers to choose the types of sales they want to opt out of, or to completely opt out. The organizations also want to clarify that businesses may offer options to delete some of the data in their possession, in addition to the option for a request to delete all.

The letter also asks for the clarification of Section 1798.110(c) to indicate that no individualized privacy policies need to be created for each consumer. This subject was touched on in the letter earlier this month from the Californians for Consumer Privacy, which included this suggestion among the technical amendments to the law it was seeking.

They further seek a mechanism related to Section 1798.115(d), involving the prohibition on the sale of personal information not received from the consumer. Under the CCPA, the information may only be sold with explicit notice and an opportunity to exercise the right to opt out. The letter says: “We urge the AG to recognize that a written assurance of CCPA compliance is sufficient and reasonable.”

Other issues specifically mentioned in the letter include:

– scope of the definition of personal information
– potential elimination of loyalty programs due to non-discrimination requirements.

The advertising and marketing association comments follow a letter to members of the California legislature earlier this month from CA privacy professionals expressing concerns about the CCPA.

There are three more public forums scheduled by the California Department of Justice and the Attorney General’s Office (a division of the DOJ). Comments may also be submitted in writing by March 8, 2019 to be considered during the pre-rulemaking period. A draft of the regulations interpreting the CCPA by the AGO – the Notice of Proposed Regulatory Action – is expected in Fall 2019.

Related Blog Posts:
More Technical Amendments Suggested for CCPA
Washington State Considering New Privacy Act – SB 5376
No CCPA Enforcement on January 1, 2020 according to AG Regulatory Timeline
Debate Over CCPA Amendment Heats Up as Business Preparations Ramp Up

More Resources:

Check out the guide Clarip has written on the California Consumer Privacy Act and contact us to see a demo of the Clarip privacy management platform used by Fortune 500 clients.