On November 4, 2020, the State of California announced that voters passed California Proposition 24, the California Privacy Right Act (CPRA), which expands the privacy rights of California consumers. The CPRA amends the California Consumer Privacy Act, which had just gone into effect on January 1, 2020. Advocates for the CPRA argue that it enables consumers to prevent businesses from sharing personal information, to correct inaccurate personal information, and to limit businesses’ ability to use sensitive information, including information that discloses one’s precise geolocation, race, ethnicity, religion, union membership, health information and religion, to name a few. It also prohibits businesses’ retention of personal information for periods longer than reasonably necessary.
The law will be implemented by a newly-established California Privacy Protection Agency that will be tasked with the imposition of fines and adoption of substantive regulations. According to media reports, this makes California the first state to establish its own data privacy regulator.
The CPRA becomes law on January 1, 2021, and most of its provisions go into effect on January 1, 2023.
California Proposition 24 | California Privacy Rights Act of 2020