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What California’s new privacy law means for brands

October 30, 2019
  ●  
Cynthia Nakad

TABLE OF CONTENTS

There’s a new law in town, and it has the potential to drastically impact how brands do business. Set to take effect on January 1, 2020, The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) has created mass panic amongst tech giants like Facebook and Google as they continue to fight the new legislation, and has left brands rushing to comply before the new year.Similar to Europe’s GDPR, CCPA will put consumers in the driver’s seat when it comes to how their data is being used. It allows California consumers to know what data companies have on them, and to request the deletion of their data. On top of this, consumers will also have the right to opt out of their data being sold.

Ultimately, these changes have resulted in 5 main categories:

1. Consumers have a right to know what personal information a business has collected, where the data came from, how it will be used, and with whom it’s shared.2. Consumers have the right to prevent businesses from selling their personal information to third parties.3. Consumers can request deletion of the personal information a business has on them.4. Businesses must inform consumers of their intent to collect personal information5. Businesses are prohibited from charging consumers different prices or refusing service, even if the consumer exercised their privacy rights.

So what does this mean for brands?

"It's going to be really hard for brands to stay nimble over the next few years unless they take a comprehensive, consumer-first approach to data privacy," says Erik Davis, Chief Product Officer at Sampler. "The American privacy landscape is changing fast, and brands that don't embrace it now will find themselves playing compliance whack-a-mole as each new state law is enacted."First and foremost, while the CCPA applies only in California, brands should expect other states to enact similar regulations. For brands that do business nationally, the prospect of managing multiple state privacy regimes will prove an ongoing challenge. Brands will have to take a critical look at how they’re collecting consumer data, as well as any third party providers they use."At Sampler, we decided years ago that consent and transparency were critical to our operating model” says Erik. “We've never sold data, and we already allowed consumers to access, edit and delete their personal information long before the California law was even drafted. As a result, we're able to tell our brands that we're ready for CCPA -- and for whatever comes next."Though these new and ever changing privacy laws can come with a set of challenges as businesses adapt, it can also be considered an opportunity. Brands who proactively adhere to these new guidelines can build deeper trust with their customers and retain their loyalty.

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