By SEMA Washington, D.C., Staff
California Governor Jerry Brown signed into law a bill that enhances online privacy protections for consumers. The California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 replaces a more sweeping ballot initiative that was set to be introduced by a San Francisco-based real estate developer. The law takes effect January 1, 2020. The California Assembly will now have 18 months to amend the enacted law, which would not be possible had the ballot initiative been approved by voters in November.
Among other provisions, the law provides consumers with the right to know data that is being collected by businesses and the right to opt out of such collection. It also provides California’s Attorney General with right of action to enforce the law. The proposed ballot initiative would have provided a private right of action for all violations.
The legislation and ballot initiative was opposed by such groups as the California Chamber of Commerce, the California Bankers Association, the National Retail Federation and TechNet, whose members include Google and Facebook.
For more information, please contact Christian Robinson at stateleg@sema.org.