Data privacy is a major concern for digital consumers. With the European Union’s passing of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in 2018, data privacy became a multinational legal concern. Beginning January 1, 2020, the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) looks to accomplish many of the same protections as GDPR.
What is CCPA (California Consumer Privacy Act)?
CCPA protects consumers from having their personal data be used and sold against their expressed will. It also addresses the very real risk of a data breach, in which data could be captured by hackers. The CCPA’s protections guarantee California consumers some basic rights:
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KNOWLEDGE. Know what kinds of personal information a company is collecting and how that data is collected, used, sold and shared.
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OPT-OUT. Choose not to participate — the right to prevent companies from selling personal data to third parties.
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DELETION. Wiping out any personal information collected at the consumer’s request.
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ACCESS. Receive equal service with no penalties for privacy, protecting the consumer from discrimination for acting on CCPA rights.
But it’s not only California businesses that need to pay attention. CCPA clearly identifies a business subject to its terms as:
- Businesses with annual gross revenues exceeding $25 million; or …
- Businesses who annually buy or receive for commercial purposes or sell or share for commercial purposes personal information of 50,000 or more California consumers, households or devices; or …
- Businesses who derive 50% or more of their annual revenues from selling California consumers’ personal information.
But the reality is that any business operating online may have consumers in California who need their information protected. Even more importantly — laws like CCPA are already in the works in several other states and are bound to end up as federal or even international regulations (similar to GDPR) sooner than later.
Additionally, CCPA gives consumers a legal framework to protect their rights, and can institute fines for individual infractions ranging from $2,500-7,500. But what does this mean for you and other online businesses like you? Well, obviously you don’t want to get fined or go to court! But you do want to serve your customers’ interests and give them the transparency they deserve.
So what’s next with CCPA?
Remember all those emails you got a couple of years ago warning you about the impending GDPR? The same thing is about to happen for CCPA. So how should you prepare for January 2020?
- Talk with your company’s financial and legal departments to get everyone on the same page and aligned with CCPA compliance.
- Create clear privacy policies — updated to CCPA standards — that are easy to find on your website and explain consumers’ rights, the kinds of data you collect, how the data will be used and if any data is shared with a third party.
- Develop opt-out policies that allow your customers to do just that — opt out from data collection.
- Make sure your email marketing, PPC campaigns, landing pages and other data-collecting marketing tactics are up to CCPA standards.
- Confirm your ability to delete consumer information — you may have to do this if a consumer makes such a request.
- Audit any third-party contact lists to make sure they comply with CCPA — this may mean removing California residents.
- Migrate your data collection strategy to meet CCPA standards across the board so you’re ready for a nationwide adoption of privacy laws.
- Notify your customers that you’ve updated your practices to align with CCPA.
- Meet with your IT provider to make sure you’re protected from data breaches — you may need to extend your security capabilities or durations to meet the needs of CCPA.
- Hold your vendors and contractors to the same rigorous standards when you share responsibility of data collection.
Are You Ready for CCPA?
Digital Current can help with digital marketing strategies aligned with CCPA standards to keep your customers’ data safe while providing value for your business. With more than 15 years of experience leading the SEO industry, we here at Digital Current are ready to deliver you more traffic, more conversions and more revenue with strategic SEO goals.
