Privacy Alert: New California Privacy Rights Act Headed to California Ballot

On June 24, the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA) became eligible for the November 2020 general election ballot in California. The CPRA would expand and amend the recently-operable California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA).

Although the CPRA would not go into effect until January 1, 2023, if enacted it would vastly expand the privacy rights afforded to California residents under the CCPA and provide a host of novel privacy rights. For example, the CPRA would expand consumers’ existing right to opt-out of the sale of their personal information to also give consumers the ability to opt-out of the sharing of their personal information. The CPRA would also afford consumers entirely new privacy rights which have yet to be seen in the United States, such as the right to correct their information.

Powers held by California’s Attorney General under the CCPA, such as enforcing the law and issuing rules and regulations, would transfer to another entity under the CPRA. This new entity would be called the California Privacy Protection Agency and would have a broad scope of responsibilities and enforcement powers.

The CPRA needs only a simple majority of California voters to pass in November.     

For questions about the CPRA, assistance with your CCPA compliance program, or questions about privacy laws in general, please contact John Landolfi, Christopher Ingram, Christopher LaRocco, Sarah Boudouris, Gretchen Rutz, or your Vorys attorney.