Blog
07.31.2018

Tech Companies Cool Toward California Consumer Privacy Act

Security Boulevard, July 24, 2018, with comments by Willy Leichter

A tough new privacy law has passed in California, taking effect January 1, 2020. It’s the new California Consumer Privacy Act and it will give consumers more control over their personal information, including that they will be able to request details on how their personally identifiable information (PII) is collected and used. If you’ve read up on GDPR lately, that should sound pretty familiar. Some of the steps companies have taken to comply with GDPR will come in handy for meeting compliance with this coming new law.

But the ability to control and share information is of priceless value – just think of Google or Facebook and others. Consequently, it’s anticipated some companies aren’t thrilled with the new law. Many businesses are founded on the necessity of sharing data.

“We shouldn’t be surprised,” Willy Leichter, vice president of marketing at Virsec, said in an email comment, “because it throws a wrench directly into their primary source of revenue: collecting and monetizing personal data.”

Leicther added, “It’s very appealing to consumers that they can opt out of marketing lists and have their data deleted. However, it’s hard to conceive of how this can effectively work. Doing any business online requires sharing data, where it inevitably gets shared, leaked or shipped across borders. Good luck trying to opt out and retrieve all your personal data when it’s littered around the globe.”

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