In October 2019, California approved the passage of a consumer privacy law that impacts how U.S. companies interact with and store data about Californians.
The law, known as the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), went into effect on Jan. 1, 2020. It aims to give consumers more rights and control over how their data is stored, used, and sold by businesses that serve them.
With such a large and digitally connected population, the implementation of the CCPA brings several new rules and considerations. Not only for businesses located in California but those with consumers within its borders.
So what are the key elements of this regulation, and what does the CCPA mean for advertisers?
The Key Facets of the CCPA Regulations
Much of the press coverage around the law touches on its impact on prominent social media companies and digital platforms. Still, the CCPA’s impact is wider-reaching than you may think.
Any business must comply with the law if it collects or uses California residents’ personal data, does business in the state, or meets one of the following criteria:
- Has annual gross revenues of more than $25 million
- Buys/Sells or receives the personal information of 50,000 or more consumers
- Derives 50 per cent or more of its annual revenues from selling personal information
Suppose your business meets at least one of these criteria. In that case, the CCPA will apply to your business—from how it stores data to how it markets and advertises to customers. According to the State of California Department of Justice, the new privacy rights of California consumers include the right to:
- Know what information companies collect, use, share and sell
- Delete any personal information businesses have
- Opt-out of their information being sold and stop businesses that sell their information already from doing so
- Not experience discrimination in prices or services if they choose to exercise any of the other privacy rights
Data and Consumer Rights Covered by the CCPA Law
The CCPA has several provisions. Two of the most important are the definitions of personal information and new consumer rights.
According to the CCPA, personal information is defined as information that identifies, relates to, or could reasonably be linked with a person or their household.
This could include a person’s or households:
- Name
- Social Security number
- Email address
- Records of products purchased
- Internet browsing history
- Geolocation data
- Fingerprints
- Inferences from other personal information that could create a profile about a person’s preferences and characteristics
What Does the CCPA Mean for Advertisers?
Complying with the CCPA means you need to adjust your marketing approaches. Here are some of the fundamental changes you need to make:
Because email addresses are considered personal information, you need to have mechanisms in place to allow residents to submit requests that:
- They no longer receive any emails.
- Any related email data be deleted, including their interests derived by email actions.
Customers must also be given the opportunity to opt-out of receiving emails. If they choose to do so, you cannot use their information.
Website
To comply with CCPA, you must have the following on your website:
- A comprehensive privacy policy that is updated to reflect your business’s use of consumer data
- Notice of collection statements detailing how personal information is collected and stored
- A mechanism for customers to request and view the data collected, opt-out of data collection, or have their data deleted
Digital Advertising and Social Media
The CCPA requires you to confirm and retain a customer’s consent through digital platforms and use the data known about them appropriately.
To help maintain compliance, platforms like Google and Facebook have data use settings and features that allow you to limit the amount of data collected or used during marketing campaigns.
Other Data Collection
Before any other prompts for user data—such as surveys, forms, or feedback—the CCPA requires a notice at or before the point of data collection.
This notice must include the purpose of the data collection, the categories of data to be stored, an opt-out option, and a link to the privacy policy.
Additionally, the notice must be prominent and easy to understand, including on mobile devices.
Simplify Your CCPA Compliance
Implementing and maintaining an effective privacy policy for CCPA can be a daunting task. Especially for businesses using eCommerce platforms like Shopify, whose consent mechanisms do not extend to your own business.
Fortunately, you can trust your privacy compliance efforts to the team at Dataships. We provide real-time integration across your marketing and data management systems. Our industry experts also constantly evaluate potential regulatory changes on your behalf.
If you want to learn more about maintaining compliance locally or worldwide, check out our latest guide on direct marketing.
