Differences Between CPRA and CCPA
The California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA) passed as a ballot initiative in the 2020 general election. The new consumer privacy law is actually an amendment of an earlier law: the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). The major differences between the CPRA and the CCPA involve the level of protection afforded to consumers. The CCPA established a baseline for protecting consumer privacy rights, while the CPRA significantly expands on those protections by giving consumers additional rights. The CPRA also imposes additional obligations on companies that do business in California.
To learn more about the differences between the CPRA and the CCPA, keep reading this blog.
California Laws That Protect Consumer Privacy
The two main California laws that protect consumers against invasion of privacy are the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA). The CPRA amended the CCPA.
California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA)
The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) was passed by state lawmakers in 2018. It was the first state privacy law that addressed the collection of consumer data, as well as the first law to directly confront digital privacy concerns. After the CCPA went into effect, businesses could no longer monitor customer communications and use the data without authorization. Additionally, California consumers now had some control over whether their personal information was collected by companies and, if so, how it could be used.
California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA)
The California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA) applies to any company that solicits customers in California and collects their personal information. The data privacy law gives consumers more control over their personal data by placing restrictions on how businesses can use customer information. When a consumer shares personal information with a business, there are limits on what the business may do with that data.
What Are the Differences Between the CPRA and the CCPA?
There are a number of differences between the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA) and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). The CPRA created new rights for consumers and imposed stricter requirements on businesses that collect customer data. Additionally, the CPRA created a new state agency to enforce consumer privacy laws.
New Consumer Privacy Rights
The CCPA was enacted to protect customer privacy, and those protections were broadened in the CPRA so that additional types of personal information are also protected by law. This includes usernames, email addresses, passwords, and security questions. If a company fails to protect against breaches or unauthorized disclosures of this information, they may be subject to liability under the new statute.
One specific example of the additional rights that the CPRA provides to consumers is the ability to opt out of cross-context behavioral advertising. This is defined as targeted advertising that is based on the personal information collected when consumers visit certain websites or use online platforms like Google, Facebook, Instagram, etc. The CPRA explicitly states that companies must allow consumers to opt out when personal data is shared with other companies for the purpose of cross-contextual advertising.
Restrictions on Businesses
The CPRA established broad privacy requirements for businesses, including an obligation for businesses to only collect and use personal information when it is reasonably necessary and proportionate to their stated purposes for collecting or using the information in the first place. Moreover, the CPRA requires companies to specify exactly how long they plan to retain personal data collected from consumers.
California Privacy Protection Agency
The CPRA established the framework for a new state enforcement agency: the California Privacy Protection Agency. This agency is responsible for enforcing not just the CPRA, but all of California’s consumer privacy laws and regulations. Prior to passage of the CPRA, enforcement of those laws was left up to the California Attorney General.
Contact the California Consumer Protection Lawyers at Tauler Smith LLP
If you visited a website and shared your personal information with the company or website operator, it’s possible that your data was exposed. The Los Angeles consumer protection lawyers at Tauler Smith LLP can help you take legal action under the California Privacy Rights Act and receive financial compensation. We regularly represent plaintiffs in both state and federal courts. To find out if you might be eligible to bring a CPRA claim, call 310-590-3927 or email us today.
