In the digital age, more often than not, you can be sure that some enterprise has hold of your personal information. This information could be your name, email, phone number, IP address, country and other details. This can come from submitting a form, subscribing to a newsletter, accepting cookies, accepting the privacy policy or terms and conditions when creating an account or downloading software. In other words, we are not fully aware how much of our information is available online and how enterprises are using it.

In the past, this may not have been seen as that much of a threat, but with the recent stances of data breach and identity theft, this is becoming a serious privacy concern. People are now more concerned about their privacy, and they want their data to be stored in a safe place away from prying eyes.

This is exactly why the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) were created. Both of these are designed to safeguard a consumer’s personal information. The GDPR is already in effect, and it is only a matter of months before the CCPA will also go into effect.

What is CCPA?

The CCPA is designed to protect the personal data of consumers and give them more control. In June 2018, the California legislature passed this bill to target all enterprises that collect, store or sell a consumer’s data residing in the state of California. The bill is scheduled to go into effect on January 1st, 2020.

Despite the name of this law, a company does not need to be physically present in California for CCPA to apply to them. Even if the company website serves the state’s residents, they will be obligated to comply with the law. As a (Read more...)