Latest California Bills Expand Protections of Personal Privacy and Control of Personal Data

The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) of 2018, as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act of 2020, is considered one of the strongest and most comprehensive privacy laws in the United States. Governor Gavin Newsom has recently signed Assembly Bills 947 and 1194, which expand protections for sensitive personal information about citizen or immigration status and reproductive health care services. The Governor has also just signed Senate Bill No.362, the Delete Act, which grants California residents more control over their personal information as collected by registered data brokers, as seen in this article by the National Law Review.

AB 947. Information that is considered “sensitive personal information” receives enhanced protections, including restrictions on how, or whether, businesses may use such information. It broadens the definition to include a person’s “citizenship or immigration status.”

AB 1194. Certain businesses are exempted by the CCPA from its non-disclosure requirements under particular circumstances. This bill amends the CCPA to exclude from those exemptions information related to abortions and other reproductive health care services, including details about contraception, pregnancy care, and perinatal care.

SB 362. The Delete Act will allow California residents to easily delete all personal information collected about them by California’s registered data brokers. Covered data brokers will be restricted from sharing or selling any new personal information collected about the resident.

Advertising, technology, and other industries strongly oppose SB 362. They argue that the CCPA already covers an opt-out process and that SB 362 will only cause harm. These groups are widely expected to try to water down or eliminate some of the requirements and obligations imposed on registered brokers.