California Joins Europe in Fight for Online Privacy

Once again, the most populous U.S. state is moving ahead of the rest of the country in how it regulates big business. A sweeping privacy law that takes effect on Jan. 1 will give Californians new rights and powers to control their personal information. This will mean that on privacy, California has more in common with the European Union than with other U.S. states. Will any of them follow?

The California Consumer Privacy Act limits how companies collect and make money from user data online. It gives consumers the right to ask a company what data it holds on them and to have that data deleted, as well as the right to opt out of the sale of personal information. Companies must establish methods for consumers to submit data requests and respond to them. Consumers have a limited right to sue over breaches of their data if a company fails to meet its security obligations; companies have a right to defend themselves by showing they corrected a data security failure. The law takes effect Jan. 1, but the attorney general’s office is still drafting regulations on compliance, so enforcement won’t begin until July 1.