Will Your Business Be Affected By The New California Privacy Law

The first communication between two computers occurred on October 29, 1969. One computer was located at UCLA and the other at Stanford. One communicated to the other "LOGIN" and it promptly crashed after receiving "LO". From this humble beginning, the Internet was born. It wasn't until the early 1980's that networks were assembled and thereby the first modern-ish version of the Internet. And, of course, the World Wide Web — websites and hyperlinks — was not invented until 1989. The law has been trying to catch up ever since.

The Internet has been revolutionary in so many ways, not the least of which is giving companies access to customers' information and chronicling everything about their digital footprint. That is why the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) was created, and why all of us need to understand its implications.

What makes the CCPA, which goes into effect on January 1, 2020, so extraordinary? First, it may be the first privacy law potentially shifting ownership of a consumer's information back to the consumer. Second, it requires transparency on the part of the companies gathering the consumer information. Third, it holds companies accountable for protecting your personal information. Fourth, and perhaps most important for our readers, the CCPA may have a bigger impact than you think on Florida (or other non-California) companies.

If you operate a business that "does business" in California, either physically or on the Internet, only one of the answers to these questions needs to be "yes" for the CCPA to apply:

Do your annual gross revenues exceed $25,000,000? Do you buy, receive, sell, or share personal information of over 50,000 California consumers or households? Do you derive at least 50% of annual revenue from selling California consumers' personal information? Notably, the California Attorney General may not bring any enforcement actions until the earlier of six months after promulgating regulations defining the law or July 1, 2020.

This law is astonishing...