The California Consumer Privacy Act will apply even to residents outside of California

Data Protection Laws have started growing in numbers and the United States brought its first data protection law into force in Jan 01, 2020, The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). Though this law is not a perfect solution for user privacy, it still can be a good start for the Americans to have some control over their personal data. Because businesses have been scavenging on personal data for more than a decade now, leaving people with absolute dissatisfaction, zero privacy and anxiety over their data.

It is believed that businesses do keep track of every interactions a user does with the organization, for example: Amazon appears to keep track of all the interaction a user does with their Kindle, like highlighted words, the start and end time of reading schedules and more. Moreover, the personal data collection and handling can be distinctively worse among organizations. Walmart has once asked for customer’s zodiac sign, while LiveRamp asked for a selfie of a person holding a ID card, and more. 

Considering how advanced our technology and data touch points are, a data security law like CCPA is a good start for the customers and end users. However, as the name states this law will apply only to the Californian residents.

Three main CCPA norms that will enhance user privacy

1. People can demand companies to show the personal data that is being collected by them.
2. People can request companies not to sell their personal data to the third parties.
3. People can request companies to delete their information unless it creates some security loopholes within the company.

How can CCPA apply to residents outside of California?

While the law is only confined to Californian residents, few companies have extended their CCPA compliance support to all the Americans. Netflix, Microsoft, Starbuck, UPS and more companies are extending their CCPA compliance to the entire country than just for California, the organizations have mentioned they do not want to discriminate other residents from Californians and believe data privacy should be universal without partiality. 

However, Californian residents can now demand companies to share their personal data that is being collected, and companies are entitled to deliver the same in readable formats like .txt, .doc, or .pdf, if people aren’t happy with the data management policies of a company, then they can register their compliant against the firm in this CCPA compliant registration form.

Users are requested to visit the company’s website, navigate to their privacy policy and search for ‘California’ to understand their stand with CCPA. 

List of companies that offer CCPA compliance for entire country

Amazon, Facebook, Google, Lutron, DoorDash, Microsoft, Netflix, PayPal, Ring, Roku, Starbucks, Strava, Uber, Toyota, Twitter, Zillow, and Wiland. Americans can read through the CCPA stands of these companies to check their access and delete procedures. 

For example, to access the data from Amazon, you can read through their CCPA stand here, raise a request to access the personal data using this form, submit the request through confirmation mail, and wait for the firm to revert. 

Amazon’s confirmation mail for personal data access:

Amazon’s data retrieval confirmation:

CCPA personal data requests could be tedious explains Washington’s Technology Columnist in the video below, (Source/ Credits: The Washington Post)