Prior to the California Legislature’s May 31, 2019 deadline to pass bills out of their chamber of origin, the California Assembly passed six additional bills that would amend the California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA” or “Act”). The California Senate now has until September 13, 2019 to consider and potentially pass these bills prior to the conclusion of the Legislature’s 2019 term.
The following provides a high-level overview of these six bills.
- A.B. 25 – Discussed at length in our June 3, 2019 client alert, A.B. 25 would amend the CCPA’s definition of “consumer” to exclude a job applicant, employee, contractor or agent of a business to the extent that such an individual’s personal information is collected and used “solely within the context of the person’s role as a job applicant to, an employee of, a contractor of, or an agent on behalf of, the business.”
- A.B. 1416 – A.B. 1416 would revise or replace certain of the CCPA’s general exceptions provided under Section 1798.145 of the Act. For example, A.B. 1416 would add an exception permitting a business to “[s]ell the personal information of a consumer who has opted-out of the sale . . . to another person for the sole purpose of detecting security incidents, protecting against malicious, deceptive, fraudulent, or illegal activity, and prosecuting those responsible for that activity, provided that the business and the person shall not further sell that information for any other purpose.” It is also noteworthy that A.B. 1416 would add a sunset provision for “new” exceptions added by A.B. 1416. Specifically, A.B. 1416 would provide that, for example, the “new” exceptions for disclosures to government agencies and for sales for the purpose of detecting security incidents and protecting against fraud would be repealed as of January 1, 2024. As a result, if A.B. 1416 were enacted, the “new” exceptions added by A.B. 1416 would be repealed at the beginning of 2024, unless reauthorized by the California Legislature.
- A.B. 1564 – The CCPA will require that a business provide at least two methods for a consumer to submit a request for disclosures about how the business handles personal information about the individual, including: (1) a toll-free telephone number; and (2) a website, if the business maintains a website. Cal. Civ. Code § 1798.130(a)(1). A.B. 1564 would amend this provision to require that a business make available “a toll-free telephone number or an email address and a physical address for submitting requests.” In addition, A.B. 1564 would clarify that a business that “operates exclusively online” would only be required to provide consumers with an e-mail address for submitting requests.
- A.B. 873 – Under the CCPA, information is “de-identified” if it cannot reasonably identify, relate to, describe, be capable of being associated with or be linked to a particular consumer, provided that the business meets certain conditions, including, for example, implementing technical safeguards that prohibit reidentification. Cal. Civ. Code § 1798.140(h). A.B. 873 would amend the definition of “de-identified” to provide that information is “de-identified” if it “does not identify and is not reasonably linkable” to a consumer, provided that the business makes no attempt to reidentify the information and takes reasonable technical and administrative measures designed to meet three conditions: (1) ensure that the data is de-identified; (2) publicly commit to maintain and use the data in a de-identified form; and (3) contractually prohibit recipients of the data from trying to reidentify the data.
- A.B. 846 – The CCPA will prohibit a business from discriminating against a consumer because she exercises her rights under the CCPA, including, for example, prohibiting a business from charging a consumer a different price or rate for goods or services. Cal. Civ. Code § 1798.125. A.B. 846, however, would clarify that the CCPA does not prohibit a business from offering a different price, rate, level or quality of goods or services to a consumer, including offering its goods or services for no fee, if the offering is: (1) in connection with a consumer’s voluntary participation in a “loyalty, rewards, premium features, discounts or club card program”; or (2) for a specific good or service with a functionality that is directly related to the collection, use or sale of the consumer’s data.
- A.B. 1146 – A.B. 1146 would provide a general exception to the CCPA’s notice, disclosure and access obligations, as well as the Act’s private right of action, for certain motor vehicle information. Specifically, A.B. 1146 would exempt from such provisions “vehicle information number, make, model, year, and odometer reading,” and “the name or names of the registered owner or owners and the contact information for the owner or owners,” that are retained or shared between a new motor vehicle dealer and the vehicle’s manufacturer, if the vehicle information is shared in connection with a vehicle repair relating to warranty work or a recall.
See our May 14, 2019 client alert for additional Assembly bills, approved early in May, that would amend the CCPA. Our team will continue to track these bills as they are considered by, and progress through, the Senate (if at all).