SACRAMENTO – All eyes are on the groundbreaking California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) set to go into effect Jan. 1, with law makers potentially making last-ditch efforts to amend it due to the impact it could have on small businesses in particular.
When the CCPA goes into effect, companies must tell their customers what data they collect and who they share it with. At consumers’ requests, companies must delete their data, provide access to their information or stop selling it altogether.
While some believe the law will protect consumers, others believe that it was rushed through the legislature. Business interests are pushing back in hopes of putting limits on what data the law applies to.
“Not only do we have concerns about it, we are trying to correct it to make it work,” said Betty Jo Toccoli, president and advocate of the California Small Business Association. “I think we’re being heard, I’m not sure we’re being understood … I don’t think the majority of elected officials set out to hurt small business, it’s just unintended consequence because they don’t understand.”
The voluminous bill was passed last year in just one week.
“We did our homework. All of it,” said Sarah Boot, representing the California Chamber of Commerce in a recent Capitol Insider article. “Coming out of the Assembly we had six bills – all of which had been narrowed significantly over the course of negotiations in the Assembly – and all but one of them passed the Assembly with near unanimous votes.”
Business owners are fearful that the CCPA will negatively impact their operations in an already unsteady political, legal and business climate.
“Small businesses in California are struggling to stay in business,” said Toccoli. “We’ve lost 50 percent of the small businesses that have employees and it’s hard to meet conditions sometimes of additional responsibility when you’re understaffed and hanging on by your toenails.”