Authors: Scott Hall and Foram Dave
California Consumer Protection Act (“CCPA”) regulations have been in the spotlight for most of 2020. Even after the final regulations went into effect on August 14, 2020, the Attorney General’s office has proposed further modifications. It is only fitting that we ring in the holiday season on that same note. On December 10, the AG’s office released a fourth set of proposed modifications to the final regulations. Building on the third set of proposed modifications, these modifications focus on the sale of personal information.
The modifications propose as follows:
Offline Opt-Out Notice Requirements. Businesses that sell personal information of consumers collected offline must also provide the consumers with offline notice of their right to opt-out and provide instructions to submit such opt-out requests. Examples of giving notice include posting signage and giving notice over the phone.
Businesses that sell personal information collected online are required to provide notice of right to opt-out and must implement the “Do Not Sell My Personal Information” link. This proposed modification attempts to even the playing field when it comes to sale of information collected offline. Unlike the precise required language for online collection, the modifications stop short of declaring language required on in-store signage and via phone calls.
Return of the Opt-Out Button. The modifications reintroduce the previously eliminated Opt-Out Button. It is to be noted that this button does not eliminate the need to post an opt-out notice or link where otherwise required. The button must be approximately the same size as other buttons on the page and must link to the same page to which the consumer is directed when s/he clicks on the “Do Not Sell My Personal Information” link. The button looks like this:
While the recent passage of the CPRA has taken much of the focus away from the CCPA in recent weeks, the CCPA remains in effect for now, and the AG’s regulations appear to be the gift that keeps on giving. The deadline to submit comments to these proposed modifications is 5:00 PM on December 28, 2020. We will continue monitoring for new developments. For further information, contact Data Privacy attorneys Foram Dave (fdave@coblentzlaw.com) and Scott Hall (shall@coblentzlaw.com).
