3 Easy Ways to Meet the CCPA Requirements

With the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) going into effect in May 2018, organizations must clearly understand their obligations under this new EU regulation. The GDPR explicitly states that data privacy should be a basic right for all individuals within the European Union. Yet, even before the GDPR was enacted, many organizations were already protecting customers’ personal information by encrypting data and ensuring that security systems were in place to protect sensitive information.

What Is the CCPA?

The California Consumer Protection Act, also known as the Unfair Competition Law, is a set of laws that prohibits unfair and fraudulent business practices. It gives consumers the power to pursue a lawsuit in court against companies that engage in this activity. This law applies to any business or individual who operates within California. It is enforced by the California Department of Business Oversight, which protects California consumers from all kinds of fraud. The CDBO has successfully enforced these laws over the years by penalizing businesses that engage in illegal practices.

So, how do you meet the CCPA requirements?

Know How the CCPA Affects Your Organization

The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) gives residents of the state the right to know what data businesses and organizations collect about how it’s used and shared. While it’s not yet clear how regulators will enforce the CCPA, it has already caused many organizations to re-think their privacy policies and how they handle customer data. Here are five things you need to know about the CCPA and how it affects your organization.

Map Consumer Data

Data privacy has become a top priority whether you’re a company or an individual. In the past year, there have been new rules and regulations worldwide that have adjusted the way companies collect and handle consumer data. In Canada, for example, there is the upcoming Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) which will require Canadian businesses to comply with strict guidelines around how they treat consumer data.

The CCPA gives consumers the right to have companies provide information about how their data is collected, shared, and sold. It also gives consumers the right to opt out of having their data sold.

Fine-Tune Your Privacy Disclosures

Not only does CCPA require companies to disclose their data practices and what type of data is collected, but it also requires that companies provide an opt-out option for consumers.

Decide How to Handle Customer Requests

If you store customer data, which most businesses do, you have to decide how to handle requests from your customers. There are different levels of sensitivity for your customer data, and depending on the level of sensitivity, you should have different policies in place that determine how requests for that data will be handled. Suppose a customer asks for all of their information to be erased from your servers. In that case, this is more sensitive than someone asking for their last three orders’ billing address information. Businesses need to understand these distinctions and have policies to accommodate them.

Update Your Systems and Computer Software

Updating business software and company systems to enhance privacy is a must-do for all companies, especially if they store the consumers’ data. Many business benefits come with updating software and systems to protect the privacy of your customers. However, there are also legal obligations that must be met to protect your customer’s data. All companies should take great care when it comes to protecting their customer’s private information.

The CCPA is becoming more and more a part of people’s daily lives, and as a result, businesses need to ensure that their data practices are compliant. We have provided you with some simple steps that should help you meet the requirements mentioned above. We hope these tips have been helpful! If you want to learn more about it, please contact us.