The tarnished “Golden State” has enacted the horrible California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018.
This law targets website owners by claiming to protect privacy rights.
So, what if your business website isn’t located in California?
You could still be liable under the Act.
Because it protects information you collect from California residents. This includes residents’ names, email addresses, and other personal information.
Now this means you could be fined up to $7,500 per violation — even if you run your online business in another state or country!
We’ve seen this type of idiocy at the national and multinational level. For example, international enforcement of U.S. spam laws and the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
But California’s attempt to regulate the online world takes it to a whole new level of nanny state scheming.
Is Your Website Covered By The California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018?
It looks like the law (for now) only targets large online businesses.
Yet it would take only a simple change to a definition in the law to put the screws to smaller businesses.
Are you operating a large ecommerce venture? Consult with a California privacy law expert about complying with this albatross.
What if you run a small or medium-sized business (SME)? You may want to make it clear the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 doesn’t apply to your site…and the reasons why it doesn’t.
Related Article: Privacy Policy 101 – What Every Website Owner Should Know
That’s the approach I’m taking in website legal documents for privacy policies I create for law firm clients.
With a little luck, the state legislature will gut or repeal the California Consumer Privacy Act. Or a court will strike it down as unconstitutional interference with interstate commerce.
But it’s possible the state law will stay on the books unless it’s preempted by Congress sometime in the future.
