California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA): What does it mean for consumers and businesses

In the second blog post of this two-part series, we'll discuss how the CCPA protects the data privacy rights of consumers, and what proactive measures businesses can adopt to prepare for the CCPA.

Here is a rundown of CCPA consumer rights:

• Consumers can demand to know what information businesses collect about them and their family, and can prevent them from doing so. 
• If the business sells the consumer's personal information, they have to divulge to whom the personal information was sold and what data was sold. 
• The law protects citizens from being discriminated against if they tell companies to stop selling their personal data. 
• Businesses are expected to protect the data from data breaches by introducing stringent security practices.

What is the penalty if a business violates the CCPA?

Organizations have to pay a fine of up to $2,500 for each violation, and up to $7,500 for an “intentional violation” that can include situations where an organization doesn't have the necessary tools or practices in place as mandated by the CCPA. Consumers themselves can sue the company for a data breach, and can recover between $100 and $750 per consumer, per incident.

What businesses can do to be compliant with the CCPA:

• Update the organization's privacy policy to include CCPA-compliant terms and conditions.
• Implement strict security practices to protect customer data against insider and external security threats.
• Provide training to employees about the best practices for handling customer data, and educate them on the consequences of a violation. 

Regulations like CCPA combined with the growing public awareness of data privacy rights and concerns, makes the development of a robust data protection program and prepares organizations for such regulatory laws in the future. Click here to navigate to part one of the CCPA blog series.