On October 10, 2019, the California Attorney General’s office issued the proposed text of its California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) regulations (the Regulations). The Regulations propose detailed rules regarding required notices for consumers, business practices for handling consumer requests, verification of requests, special rules regarding minors, and non-discrimination. Accompanying the Regulations are the Attorney General’s Initial Statement of Reasons, which provide the justifications for each requirement.
Continue Reading Proposed CCPA Regulations: Clarity or Confusion?

On May 29, 2019, in the midst of the legislative amendment process taking place in Sacramento for the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), Nevada has passed its own CCPA-like privacy law, SB 220, taking effect on October 1, 2019, just three months before the CCPA becomes operative. The law’s main focus is to give consumers the right to opt out of the sale of certain personal information about them, though it is substantially narrower than the CCPA in many respects. Here are the key takeaways from the law:
Continue Reading Nevada Follows California in Enacting New Privacy Law Giving Consumers the Right to Opt Out of Certain Data Sales

On May 1, 2019, WSGR held a panel discussing state and federal legislative privacy developments, including the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). The panel, moderated by Chris Olsen, featured Ashkan Soltani, former chief technologist at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and Shaundra Watson, the senior director for policy at BSA (The Software Alliance). Here are the key takeaways from the discussion:
Continue Reading WSGR Event Recap: Key State and Federal Legislative Privacy Developments

On September 23, 2018, Governor Jerry Brown signed into law SB-1121, a bill that makes several amendments to the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA or the Act). The controversial privacy law, which is set to take effect in 2020, recently sparked a war of words among industry, privacy advocates, and the California Attorney General, each of whom sent letters to the California legislature urging amendments to the legislation. The California Chamber of Commerce, along with 36 business coalitions (Industry), submitted a letter to California Senator Bill Dodd in August, calling the Act “unworkable,” urging both technical and substantive cleanup of the Act, and introducing 21 proposed amendments. A coalition of 20 consumer privacy advocate groups (Advocates) responded with their own letter, highlighting the negative consequences Industry’s proposed changes would have on consumer rights.

The Industry and Consumer Advocates did not wholly disagree. Both coalitions urge the legislature to make technical fixes, such as clarification that businesses do not have to collect extra information to comply with the Act, as well as clarification of the definition of de-identified information. The California Attorney General also weighed in with comments, requesting specific amendments and additional time to issue regulations. In response to the input from these various stakeholders, the legislature amended the Act on August 31, 2018 and sent it to the Governor’s desk. This article sets forth the principal issues discussed in the letters and the legislature’s response.
Continue Reading California Consumer Privacy Act: Industry, Advocate, and Enforcement Concerns and Legislative Amendments