Aug 162018

Coalition Groups Weigh In on CCPA Clean Up Legislation

Christopher Fonzone
, , ,

On June 29, the day after California Governor Jerry Brown signed the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) into law, Data Matters provided a summary of the important new legislation.  In doing so, we noted that the law was scheduled to go into effect on January 1, 2020 and that, if and when it did, it would be the “broadest privacy law in the United States” and “may well have an outsize influence on privacy laws nationwide.”  Because of this, we further predicted that “[t]he coming months will no doubt stimulate considerable legislative and litigation activity to test the acceptability of [the CCPA’s] effects on interstate commerce, free speech, commercial innovation, reasonable regulatory burdens and meaningful privacy protection.”

It did not take long for this prediction to prove correct.  Bill Dodd, a California State Senator, has already made a bill (SB 1121) available to serve as a vehicle for “cleaning up” and amending the CCPA, and, in light of this, a coalition of nearly 40 industry groups recently sent a detailed letter to Dodd proposing changes to “address drafting errors” and “fix aspects of [the Act] that would be unworkable and that would result in negative consequences unintended by the authors.”  In particular, the letter proposes over 20 amendments, including, among many other things:

  • An amendment to the definition of “consumer” in order to clarify that the Act doesn’t cover data gathered from employees or as part of business to business interactions;
  • An amendment to the definition of “personal information” so that it is consistent with the notion of an identifiable person (and doesn’t expressly cover information that “relates to” or is “capable of being associated with” a particular consumer); and
  • A clarification of the Act’s private cause of action to make sure it reflects what the letter states was the intention of the drafters, i.e., to apply that provision only to violations of the Act’s data breach provision.

The letter provides an excellent insight into the first round of legislative debate on amending the CCPA, and is well worth a read to anyone interested in the Act and its future.

Christopher Fonzone

cfonzone@sidley.com

You might also like
How the China Personal Information Protection Law Applies to Foreign Asset Managers

Since China’s Personal Information Protection Law (PIPL) came into effect in November 2021, there has been widespread uncertainty amongst offshore fund managers and investors with entities outside Mainland China as to how and whether the regime applies to them. Given the potential for foreign asset managers to overlook or misinterpret PIPL, this brief update outlines some guidance as to how PIPL can apply, and to whom, in a practical context.

Washington State Enacts My Health My Data Act, Broadly Regulating Health-Related Data With a Private Right of Action

On April 27, 2023, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, a Democrat, signed into law the state’s My Health My Data Act (the Act), which will become effective on March 31, 2024 (June 30, 2024, for small businesses). Despite its name, this is a comprehensive privacy bill that will affect many entities, including those outside of the traditional “health” context. The rights and obligations may apply to individuals other than Washington residents, as the law defines consumers as including persons whose data is merely collected or otherwise processed in the state.

The Future of UK Open Banking: Joint Regulatory Oversight Committee Issues Recommendations

The committee of government and regulatory authorities responsible for open banking in the UK has set out its plans and timeframes for expanding and developing infrastructure, standards, and processes for the sector. Central among these are proposals to improve the performance of interfaces among relevant firms, mitigate financial crime risks, and ensure that end users receive sufficient information and are protected if something goes wrong. This Sidley Update summarises the proposals and key points for firms.