4 Key Things to Do for Achieving CCPA Compliance

The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) is more than simply a legal obligation; it’s the path to secure long-term success and safeguard your business in the state.

As per the CCPA and its amendment and expansion in the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA), consumers now have greater control on their personal information as well as how businesses handle it. Non-compliance with these regulations can lead to substantial fines and penalties.

To ensure adherence, businesses need to understand the regulations thoroughly and have a keen attention to detail. To help you achieve CRPA and CCPA compliance for your website, we’ve provided a CCPA compliance checklist in this article.

Who Needs to Adhere to the CCPA?

The CCPA is applied to all for-profit businesses in California, meeting any of the criteria given below:

• They transfer, process, or receive data from 100,000 or more households or consumers in California every year.
• At least 50% of their annual revenue arrives from sharing or selling the personal data of California residents.
• Their preceding calendar year’s annual gross revenue exceeds USD 26,625,000.

If your business in California meets any of these criteria, non-compliance with the CCPA can result in fines of up to US $7,988 for each willful violation.

Now that you know how crucial it is to comply with the CCPA, let’s dive into our CCPA compliance checklist to ensure that your business adheres to the CCPA/CPRA privacy laws.

CPRA and CCPA Compliance Checklist

Here’s what you need to do to ensure your compliance with the CPRA as well as the CCPA:

#1. Create a Comprehensive Plan for Data Privacy

A privacy policy outlines how your organization collects, uses, safeguards, and shares the personal information of prospects or customers interacting with your website. It informs customers about their data privacy rights and lets you build trust by showcasing that you follow data privacy laws.

To maintain CCPA compliance, you need to be transparent about the type of information your business collects from consumers. A privacy policy complying with the CCPA must include the following:

• Type of data you collect and process
• The purpose(s) of collecting and processing this data
• How your business collects and processes this data, e.g., trackers in the browser
• How you use personal information, e.g., analytics, advertising
• How you may share the information with third parties
• How people may request access to, move, change, or get their personal information deleted
• Procedure for identity verification to submit a request for data subject access

In 2023, some CRPA amendments were introduced, according to which, the following should also be included in your privacy policy:

• A clause that lists which personal data collected is classified as sensitive, if applicable
• A statement outlining that your customers possess the right to have the information they’ve shared with you updated or corrected
• How people have the right to opt out of their data being shared or sold; your website should comprise a clear link saying “Do Not Share or Sell My Personal Information”

#2. Disclose How the Data of Your Customers is Used

If you share or sell California consumers’ information protected by the CPRA or CCPA, you must inform them prior to sharing or selling their data with third parties. You can do this by having a consent management banner, which appears when they arrive at your site.

When informing consumers how their information is used in a consent banner, adhere to the following guidelines:

• Explain clearly what the visitors are consenting to regarding the information collected, with whom the data may be shared, purposes for the data’s use, etc.
• Outline the purposes of collecting their data – whether for improving the user experience, targeting advertising, personalizing content, or other business interests.
• Specify the type of information you’re collecting, which can comprise personal details, like name, IP address, email, or functions such as browsing behavior through the use of cookies or other technologies for tracking.
• Offer equally accessible options to visitors for accepting or declining the consent request, wherever relevant, or for opting out. According to the CPRA/CCPA, consumers have the right to opt out of their sensitive personal information’s collection and processing, e.g., through a link like “Limit the Use of My Sensitive Personal Information” or something similar, or the sale or sharing of their personal data.
• Have a link to your privacy policy where consumers can get more detailed information.

#3. Maintain Customer Records Securely

Storing personal information collected from users securely is a regulatory requirement. Moreover, it’s crucial for consent records to be accessible for different purposes. For example, if users want to change their preferences or decide to opt for sharing or sale, if users use their rights and make a request for data subject access, or if there’s an audit or investigation by the California Privacy Protection Agency.

Here, a consent management platform (CMP) is quite useful. It enables the consent information of users to be obtained or updated compliantly as well as stored securely. The platform also provides users with the information necessary to maintain regulatory compliance, such as the data types collected and the purposes of use.

#4. Ensure that Users can Contact Your Business

For CPRA/CCPA compliance, you must enable your customers and website visitors to contact you easily regarding privacy concerns or data requests. Make sure this information can be easily accessed on your website.

Your business also needs to have a system for receiving and responding to user requests as well as storing request information for 2 years.

According to the CCPA/CPRA, California users have the right to:

• Access their personal data collected by your business and make requests or ask questions regarding it
• Request corrections or changes to their data
• Limit the disclosure and use of their sensitive personal information
• Opt out of their data’s sale or sharing, or its use by automated decision-making technologies
• Request their data’s copy and get it moved to a different location (data portability)
• Get their data deleted
• Feel no discrimination if they decide to opt-out or use their rights

Maintaining CCPA compliance also requires companies to respond to verifiable user requests in 45 days, although this time can be extended for another 45 days under certain circumstances.

Conclusion

These are some of the several things you need to do to maintain CCPA compliance. Abide by them to ensure that your business adheres to this crucial regulation.

Complying with CCPA will also help build trust for your business among your prospects and customers, resulting in increased conversions and sales. So, if you aren’t CCPA compliant yet, embark on your CCPA compliance journey today!

Need help getting started? Get in touch with us for expert guidance and keep your website compliant.