CCPA, the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018, gives consumers more control over the personal information that businesses collect about them. As stated by the State of California Department of Justice, this law secures new privacy rights for California consumers, including:
- The right to know about the personal information a business collects about them and how it is used and shared;
- The right to delete personal information collected from them (with some exceptions);
- The right to opt-out of the sale of their personal information; and
- The right to non-discrimination for exercising their CCPA rights.
What is considered personal information under the CCPA?
Under the CCPA, personal information is information that identifies, relates to, or can be reasonably linked to you or your household. Examples of personal information include name, SSN, email address, geolocation data, and fingerprints. Information that is not considered private is information that is publicly available - in other words, information lawfully made available from federal, state, or local government records.
The CCPA applies to any for-profit business in California that meets any of the following criteria:
- A gross annual revenue of over 25 million
- Buys, receives, or sells the personal information of 50,000 or more California residents, households, or devices; or
- Derives 50% or more of their annual revenue from selling California residents’ personal information.
Why is it important to consider a company’s privacy practices?
The safeguarding of personal information should be important to any company you are doing business with. Melissa’s approach to privacy is to ensure the security of the information in our care and to maintain the privacy of consumers through appropriate, responsible use. Melissa products and services rely on data collected from a range of third-party data providers, including both government and private sources, which may include a consumer’s personal information. Under the CCPA, a resident of California may submit a verifiable consumer request to exercise the rights listed above. Melissa remains dedicated to ensuring your client data is securely managed by establishing and refining our controls, and we continually undergo independent security audits to reinforce our commitment to data security, privacy and compliance requirements.